At least four in five job seekers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Germany were rejected for a role in the past year without speaking to anyone at the hiring company, according to new research on AI in hiring from Greenhouse.

The Future of Hiring Candidate Report 2026 surveyed 2,832 active job seekers aged 18 to 64. Of the 302 Australian respondents, 85 per cent said they had been turned down without a single conversation. That compares with 81 per cent in the US and in the UK and Ireland, and 86 per cent in Germany.

Tom Hyde, head of sales and revenue for Asia-Pacific at Greenhouse told HRD the findings show both sides of the hiring market are using artificial intelligence (AI), and both are unhappy with the result.

“It’s the doom loop of candidates feel like they need to do it to stand out,” Hyde said. “Recruiters are drowning in volume because the candidates can use AI to apply so many times, multiple jobs, multiple roles, you know, create this volume.”

How AI in hiring created a volume problem

Candidate use of AI is now close to universal. According to the report, 84 per cent of Australian job seekers used AI in their search, alongside 87 per cent in Germany, 78 per cent in the UK and Ireland, and 77 per cent in the US.

Much of that use is aimed at beating automated screening. Among US respondents, 62 per cent tried at least one tactic to get past screening software. Of those, 40 per cent added skills or keywords they do not have, and a third inserted hidden text aimed at an AI reviewer.

Candidates are also working to disguise their use of the tools. Just over half (51 per cent) of Australian respondents rewrote an application so it would not appear AI-generated.

Hyde said traditional screening signals are losing their value as a result. He described a Melbourne-based customer who was recruiting a chief marketing officer. She had shortlisted 12 applicants, and six of them submitted cover letters.

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