Only a quarter (26%) of job candidates trust AI will fairly evaluate them, even though just over half of candidates (52%) believe AI screens their application information, Gartner found.

A first quarter of 2025 survey of 2,918 job candidates found that 32% were concerned about AI potentially failing their applications, and 25% said they trust employers less if they are using AI to evaluate their information.

Furthermore, only half of candidates trusted that the jobs they were applying for were legitimate.

While candidates are concerned about employer use of AI, they are leveraging the technology in their own applications. A fourth quarter 2024 survey from Gartner of 3,290 job candidates found that four in 10 candidates (39%) said they used AI during the application process.

Those who leverages the technology did so to generate text for their CV (54%), generate text for a cover letter (50%), generate text for writing samples (36%), or generate text for answers to questions on the assessment (29%).

“It’s getting harder for employers to evaluate candidates’ true abilities, and in some cases, their identities. Employers are increasingly concerned about candidate fraud,” said Jamie Kohn, senior research director, in the Gartner HR practice. “Candidate fraud creates cybersecurity risks that can be far more serious than making a bad hire.”

A second quarter 2025 Gartner survey of 3,000 job candidates found that 6% admitted to participating in interview fraud – either posting as someone else or having someone else pose as them in an interview. Gartner predicts that by 2028, one in four candidate profiles worldwide will be fake.

Recommended reading

• 40% of Tech Pros Expect to Make at Least 3 Career Changes
• Recruitment Leaders Struggling to Find AI Talent, Report Claims
• 8 in 10 Hiring Managers Prioritise AI Skills When Hiring
• Is AI Now Essential in Recruitment?

Uncertainty surrounding AI could make candidates even more selective when it comes to the job application process. According to Gartner research, 51% of candidates accepted a job offer in their most recent application process (Q2 2025) a substantial decline from Q2 2023, when 74% of candidates accepted their most recent offer.

To combat candidate fraud, while retaining candidate trust, employers should have a multi-layer fraud mitigation strategy that focuses on three steps:

• Setting clear expectations and communicating hiring standards. Employers should explain to candidates how they define acceptable use of AI and emphasise their fraud detection efforts including the legal consequences if fraudulent behaviour is detected.
• Using the assessment process to uncover fraud. Recruiters should know how to detect evasive behaviours and assessment tools should include anti-cheating safeguards such as conducting in-person interviews. Gartner research found 62% of candidates said they are more likely to apply to a position if the organisation requires in-person interviews (2Q25).
• Refining assessment methods throughout candidate evaluation. Fraud prevention must extend beyond the initial hiring phase. Employers should focus on system-level validation rather than individual surveillance – tightening background checks, using risk-based data monitoring and embedding detection tools like identity verification and anomaly alerts in recruiting systems.