Join/Renew
For decades, one of the pervasive arguments in college recruiting has been the effectiveness of high-tech versus high-touch practices. That argument persists with the integration of AI into college recruiting.
Perhaps one of the key determinations employers should base their college recruiting approach on should not be what they think college students want throughout the process but what college students actually want.
“Just about everything we hear and read about the use of AI in student recruitment is from either the employer or vendor perspective. My focus continues to be through the students’ lens, and in this regard, their attitudes about AI are decidedly negative,” explains Mary Scott, founder and managing consultant of Scott Resource Group (SRG).
“Most of the reaction maps to a lack of authenticity and trust. Students believe that employers are using AI to a far greater degree than most will admit.”
She says that two areas where this is most apparent are:
- Students’ perception that they’re being screened from opportunities by a machine; and
- The actual use of pre-recorded video interviews (PRVI), which, Scott says, have been viewed negatively for well over a decade.
“In the most recent SRG research conducted in spring 2026 that gathered data on PRVI, more than 40% of surveyed students agreed that they had declined an opportunity to participate in an AI-powered recorded video interview,” she notes.
“As a bottom-line metric, less than 20% of students agreed that an employer’s use of AI strengthened their interest in [the employer]. However, almost 60% agreed that employers’ use of AI lessened their interest in employers that used AI in the recruiting process.”
Of course, this doesn’t mean that AI is off limits for college students. SRG research found that students actually use and value AI tools that are advantageous to them, such as ChatGPT. In fact, more than 60% agreed that they had used such a generative AI tool to help them write and/or edit their resume and cover letters, and 48% used it to prepare for interviews.
“On the other hand, only 11% have used AI to help them respond to an interviewer’s questions in real-time, despite ‘research’ that claims a much higher percentage have done so. Such claims do make for compelling click bait,” Scott says.
“Students’ reaction to employers’ using AI in the recruiting process takes a decidedly different direction, however, when the question set explores students’ attitudes and preferences about the role of artificial intelligence in the workplace. SRG findings do not align with the conventional wisdom specific to ‘[excitement] about the promise of AI in shaping the world of work going forward.’ Barely 30% of spring 2026 survey participants agreed with the statement, with over 40% in disagreement.”
Other key SRG data that illuminate students’ feelings about statements pertaining to AI in the recruiting process include:
- “Students are favorably impressed with employers that use AI during the recruiting process”—58% of student respondents disagree, with barely 5% indicating strong agreement.
- “The use of AI in the recruiting process is a positive development”—22% of respondents agreed, while 48% disagreed.
- “Transitioning to AI in the recruiting process will assure a more equitable outcome for candidates”—15% of respondents agreed and 29% disagreed.
“The reality of students’ expectations include a much more accurate job-matching process for the ‘recommended for you’ positions that are all too often wildly inaccurate, such as a software developer receiving an invitation from a third-party university job board to apply for a position as a cruise line housekeeping supervisor,” Scott says.
“This common occurrence signals a fundamental lack of authenticity—and more than half of students agreed that such an experience negatively impacted their perceptions of an employer,” she says, adding that less than one-third agreed that “AI-generated job matches are mostly accurate and relevant.”
Several other interesting elements of employers’ use of AI in the job search relate to perceptions of how it’s being used in the screening and assessment process. Scott says that, specific to its validity, students rated it at 4.14 on a 10-point Likert scale.
SRG research also found that students are highly skeptical that they will get a fair review and consideration and are not confident that their privacy is secure with the use of AI recruiting tools).
“They are, however, more likely to believe that employers are using AI to review their LinkedIn and/or social media accounts,” Scott adds.
“The net effect of all these ratings is that only [about one in five] were in agreement that they had received a ‘fair and unbiased assessment from AI tools.’”
Be Transparent About Integrating AI Into Recruiting
Based on her findings, Scott offers several suggestions to employers for integrating AI into their approaches to college recruiting:
- Be fully transparent, honest, and specific—On the 10-point Likert scale, “I expect employers to be transparent about their use of AI during the recruiting process” was rated at 8.10, the highest score, and by a significant margin. If you’re using any AI tools, tell students how—and why. If you’re NOT using AI, be sure to mention that as well.
- Avoid using automated interviewing platforms—Students have long regarded these pre-recorded video platforms as both lazy and highly impersonal, and as previously noted, a significant portion of this survey’s participants had declined an opportunity to participate in at least one.
- Conduct your own internal research over the summer with your interns to further explore their perceptions and recommendations. “Employers would be well-served to assess the brand impact of their use of such tools,” Scott says.
