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The use of AI in career centers to help students in their employment journey has grown substantially in recent years. NACE’s recent Quick Poll on Career Services Benchmarks found that 76% of career centers in colleges and universities report that they use AI as an assistive tool when working with individual students as part of their career services.
When asked the same question in spring 2023, only about 20% of respondents reported using AI with students. This is a significant increase over two years. Further, another 11% of career centers participating in our recent quick poll told us that they have not used AI as an assistive tool in the past with students but are planning to this year.
Figures 1 and 2 share the ways that career centers use or plan to use AI with students. Leading the list include helping students create resumes, prepare for interviews, and write cover letters.
In our survey, just 13% reported they are not using nor are they planning on using AI with students in career services. When asked why they are not using AI, the majority (64%) said a lack of staff expertise was a barrier and 48% said there was a lack of staff capacity. Other reasons include concerns about:
- Ethical implications (40%);
- AI collecting personal data on students (27%); and
- AI deskilling or de-professionalizing career services (21%).
Interestingly, despite the prevalence in our quick poll this summer, our recent Student Survey found that uptake of AI was not prevalent. Less than one-third of graduating seniors in the Class of 2025 said they used it in their job search, and those not using it expressed a number of concerns, including potential ethical implications. In our 2025 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey, fewer than 22% of employers said they were using AI in their recruiting efforts.
We also asked about AI workshops for career center staff and students. While only 40% of career centers have provided workshops for staff on using AI, another 18% are planning to do so this year. Thirty-five percent of career centers have provided workshops for students on how to use AI in their job search, and another 30% are planning to provide those workshops this year. Finally, close to half of career centers provided resources (such as guides, links, and more) for students on how to use AI in their job search; another 24% were planning to this year.
When triangulating this data with our recent Student Survey, we found that less than one-third of students reported having guidance about using AI in the job search, and only about one in five has had any instruction on using AI as an assistive tool.
NACE conducted the Career Services Benchmark Quick Poll in late summer to assess trends around competency and career readiness integration in higher education. The survey was in the field from August 12, 2025, to September 6, 2025. A total of 448 colleges and universities responded.
