Artificial intelligence is fast becoming a favourite tool to help with job applications. Results from a recent Statista+ survey show that over 60 percent of U.S. and UK job seekers have used AI in the application process in the last 24 months, making it the norm rather than an exception in 2026.
While AI offers many options to support applicants in their job search, from filtering job offers to composing CVs and cover letters and sending emails, its use seems to remain somewhat controversial for some: around six in ten respondants in the U.S. and the UK said they believed applicants who use AI should do so in such a way that it isn't recognisable as AI, indicating it still harbors a negative connotation. Over half of those surveyed in both countries also believed the use of AI in the application process means that applications convey a false picture of applicants' actual skills.
Interestingly, Americans were much more likely to believe that companies approve of applicants using AI while applying for jobs: 52 percent, compared to 39 percent in the UK, highlighting that maybe the negative feelings surrounding artificial intelligence may differ from country to country.
How common is the use of AI for job applications? According to a new survey from Statista+, very common. Of the 500 adults surveyed in the U.S. in January 2026, 70 percent said they had used artificial intelligence when applying for a job in the past 24 months, while 64 percent in the UK. As our infographic shows, AI adoption varies slightly depending on several factors, but it seems to have become the norm rather than the exception.
Of all the generations surveyed, Millennials were the most likely to trust an AI tool to help apply for jobs: they were 78 percent in the U.S. and 79 percent in the UK, a few percentage points ahead of other generations. Men were also slightly more likely than women to have used AI for an application in the last two years. The biggest gap identified in the story was between office/desk workers and physical/manual workers in the UK: while 72 percent of the former admitted to using AI in the application process, the latter were only 35 percent. Interestingly, the gap was much less pronounced in the U.S.: 82 percent compared to 72 percent.
While AI seems to have been pretty universally adopted in both the U.S. and the UK to search and apply for work, concerns remain. In both countries, around six out of ten respondents said applicants should be careful to use AI in a way that it can't be identified as such. Of the people who hadn't relied on the technology recently, more than half were worried the use of AI would lead to the loss of personal human contact during the application process. At the same time, a majority believed that applying for a job would be impossible to navigate in the future without AI.