A growing number of jobseekers in the United States and the United Kingdom are turning to artificial intelligence to support applications, with usage highest among Millennials and office-based workers.
According to a Statista+ survey of 500 U.S. adults and 502 UK adults conducted in January 2026, 70% of U.S. respondents and 64% of UK respondents reported using AI in the past 24 months when applying for a job.
Among Millennials, adoption was even higher, with 78% in the U.S. and 79% in the UK indicating they had used AI. Men were slightly more likely than women to rely on AI, and adoption also differed by occupation: in the UK, 72% of office/desk workers used AI compared to 35% of manual or physical workers, while the gap was narrower in the U.S., at 82% versus 72%.
Jobseekers reported a range of practical reasons for using AI. In the U.S., 49% used AI to compensate for weaknesses such as spelling or design skills, 48% said it improved their overall chances, and the same share tailored applications to specific roles. Another 46% said AI helped save time. The most common applications of AI included automating CV or cover letter creation (49%), interview preparation (44%), and searching or filtering job offers (40%).
Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT were the most widely used tools, cited by 73% of U.S. respondents and 86% in the UK. Other popular tools included CV and cover letter generators like Canva, Kickresume, and Adobe in the U.S. (58%), and text and document optimizers such as Grammarly and LanguageTool in the UK (46%).
Despite widespread adoption, some concerns remain. In both countries, around 60% of respondents said applicants should use AI carefully so it is not detectable, and more than half of those who had not used AI cited the risk of losing human contact or conveying a false impression of their actual skills. Americans were somewhat more confident that companies approve of AI use, with 52% believing employer acceptance, compared to 39% in the UK.
The survey suggests that AI is rapidly becoming a standard tool in the application process, particularly for digitally savvy and office-based professionals, while discussions around transparency and skill authenticity continue.
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