Recruitment Software Company TestGorilla Report: 75% of UK Recruiters Believe Most CVs Are Written by AI; 87% Say Candidates' Actual Skills Fall Short
A new survey reveals widespread recruiter skepticism toward AI-generated applications, with nearly nine in ten noting that candidates' actual AI skills are weaker than claimed, driving up verification costs.
According to a report published by TechRadar on November 3, 2026, a survey conducted by recruitment software company TestGorilla among HR professionals in the UK and US indicates that AI is significantly eroding trust in the hiring process. In the UK, 75% of recruiters believe that the majority of CVs and profiles they receive are written by AI rather than the candidates themselves.
This pervasive skepticism has led to a sharp increase in verification costs. The report states that 49% of UK recruiters cite "verifying applicant skills" as their single largest challenge in sourcing new talent, a process that can take up to 60 minutes per candidate. Furthermore, 87% of recruiters reported that applicants' actual AI skills were weaker than indicated in their applications.
"A CV used to be a candidate's account of themselves. Increasingly, it's an AI's account of what a recruiter wants to read," said Wouter Durville, CEO of TestGorilla. The survey also found that 33% of recruiters observe little difference between applications in AI fields, exacerbating screening difficulties. Notably, UK recruiters are less likely (15%) to hire based on a candidate's promise of capability compared to their US counterparts (23%).