Fabric, an AI interview platform, performed an analysis of 19,368 artificial intelligence-powered interviews conducted between July 2025 and January 2026 and found 38.5% of candidates were flagged for AI-cheating behavior, according to Forbes.
Although AI can streamline some processes on the employer side, it also has made the hiring process more complicated. Candidates use AI to try to optimize their resumes—matching job descriptions, exaggerating experience and convincingly describing desired skills even if they are unqualified. Additionally, “AI can now generate interview answers in real time, coach candidates into fluency before they walk into a conversation, and in some cases feed responses during a live interview without the hiring manager knowing.” So a candidate can make it through the entire hiring process without knowing how to do the job. In a Checkr survey of 3,000 hiring managers, 59% said they had suspected a candidate of using AI to misrepresent themselves during the hiring process.
Forbes shares the following tips for shifting the hiring process to lessen the influence of AI.
- Verify the resume before treating it as evidence. A resume offers an opportunity to check the facts. Be sure to verify employment history, qualifications, references, certifications and relevant experience before moving forward with a candidate.
- Test what candidates can do. Hiring processes should allow candidates to demonstrate their skills through role-specific tasks or practical assessments. It also shows you what the candidate genuinely can produce without the help of AI.
- Build interviews around the candidate’s answers. Use a candidate’s responses to ask follow-up questions during the interview. You could ask for more details regarding a decision they made or request an example from their experiences, which can make it more difficult for them to produce an AI answer.
- Keep human judgment in the process. Although automated screening can seem like it makes the process easier and quicker, it also may be filtering out good candidates. Although technology can be handy when it comes to identity checks and fraud detection, it should supplement human judgment instead of replace it. Your human assessments and insights are crucial for hiring decisions.
