Can employers still trust the CV? AI fuels hiring confidence crisis

Can employers still trust the CV? AI fuels hiring confidence crisis



AI is forcing employers to question how reliably a CV reflects a candidate’s skills and experience, as new insights reveal growing concerns over how much businesses can trust the information candidates provide. That’s according to leading global software and data company providing employment background screening and identity solutions, First Advantage.



Research from Lighthouse Research and Advisory referenced in the Know Your People podcast, by First Advantage, revealed that 92% of recruitment leaders say AI-generated CVs are now commonplace, while 72% have experienced an increase in application volumes as a result. This has had an impact on hiring processes, with additional data presented at First Advantage Collaborate EMEA 2026 revealing that more than a third (36%) of HR professionals say AI-generated candidate content has reduced their confidence in hiring decisions.



This combination presents employers with a growing dilemma; AI can help candidates communicate their skills and experience more effectively, but it can also make it harder to determine whether a polished application accurately reflects the person behind it.



For employers, that amplifies the growing questions around whether candidates should or shouldn’t use AI. The challenge also reaches beyond skills. Employers need confidence both that an applicant can do what they claim and that the individual being assessed is who they say they are.



That distinction is becoming increasingly important as hiring risks emerge earlier in the recruitment process. First Advantage has warned that many hiring fraud signals now appear before traditional background checks begin, including during application review and interview stages.



Rolf Bezemer, Executive Vice President and General Manager at First Advantage, comments:



“AI isn’t making the CV obsolete, but it is changing what employers can reasonably expect a CV to tell them. When technology can help candidates create highly polished, tailored applications in seconds, presentation alone becomes a much weaker indicator of capability. The fact that more than a third of HR professionals say AI-generated candidate content has already reduced their confidence in hiring decisions is a concern, but the answer isn’t to assume that AI use means a candidate is being dishonest. AI is increasingly part of everyday working life, and there are entirely legitimate reasons for applicants to use it. The more important issue is whether hiring processes give employers enough reliable evidence to make confident decisions.



“That means looking beyond any single hiring signal. CVs can provide useful context, but work samples, skills assessments and structured interviews can offer evidence of what somebody can actually do. Alongside that, robust identity verification can help establish confidence that the person being assessed is who they claim to be. The real question employers should be asking isn’t whether they can stop candidates using AI. It’s whether their hiring process still works when they do.”



Ends

Press contact

Caroline Vooght

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Notes to editors

Know Your People is a podcast from First Advantage exploring the changing relationship between people, technology, identity and trust in the workforce. The episode featuring Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research and Advisory, examines how AI is reshaping traditional hiring signals, including the CV, and what employers can use instead. The views and experiences described in this are drawn from conversations from that episode and reflect the guest's perspective. They do not constitute advice from, or the views of, First Advantage.