Science & Tech · AI · 2 hrs ago
AI hiring tools may favor applicants who use AI to write résumés
A London law firm received 178 applications for an IT job in human resources, compared with about two dozen for a similar role a year earlier.
Because AI tools make applications faster to prepare, the firm tested whether an AI agent could help screen candidates.
The agent and human reviewers chose different finalists.
The agent favored polished résumés that made claims about exceptional achievements despite limited experience.
The firm said the tool may have mistaken signs of AI-written résumés for evidence of AI skills, or may have favored applications simply because AI helped write them.
A preliminary study of simulated hiring in 24 occupations found that applicants using the same AI model as the recruiter were 23% to 60% more likely to reach a shortlist than applicants with human-written résumés.
The study is still undergoing peer review, so its findings may change.
Addleshaw Goddard’s AI hiring agent favored some polished résumés that human reviewers did not rate as highly.
The London law firm tested the agent after receiving 178 applications for an HR information technology role.
The agent appeared impressed by claims of exceptional achievements despite limited experience, which staff suspected may have been written with AI.
A preliminary study found that applicants using the same AI model as a recruiter were 23% to 60% more likely to be shortlisted.
The study is still under peer review, and its findings may change.
- Who
- Addleshaw Goddard and applicants for an HR information technology role. Researchers also studied AI-assisted hiring across 24 occupations.
- What
- The firm compared an AI agent’s ratings of applications with human ratings; the lists did not match.
- When
- Early in 2026, according to the article.
- Where
- Addleshaw Goddard, a law firm based in London.
- Why
- The firm received many applications and wanted to assess whether AI could help review them more quickly.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A possible explanation is that, because AI proficiency was one of the criteria, the agent may have interpreted signs of AI use in writing the résumé as evidence of AI proficiency
Addleshaw Goddard received 178 applications for an HR information technology role.
The firm’s AI agent and human reviewers assessed a group of about a dozen candidates, but their lists did not match.
- Applications
- 178
- Firm
- Addleshaw Goddard, based in London
- Role
- HR information technology
- Candidates assessed
- About a dozen
- Study scope
- 24 occupations
- Shortlisting difference
- AI users were 23% to 60% more likely to be shortlisted
Sources
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