Let’s be honest. You’re not just screening candidates anymore. You’re screening AI personas.

It starts with the CVs. Clean, keyword-optimised, flawlessly tailored for your job spec…and 100% ChatGPT’d.

Then come the interviews. Confident, articulate, and oddly perfect answers. When you dig a little deeper, you realise they’ve been rehearsed, regurgitated, and rewritten by tools you have never even heard of.

And here’s where it gets weirder…

Some of us have already faced that unsettling feeling that something is off. The person on the video call isn’t reacting quite right. The voice sounds modulated, and the background looks too perfect. Because you are not just assessing skills anymore – in some instances, you are checking if the candidate is even real to begin with. And if you think this sounds absurd, already 17% of hiring managers in the US have encountered candidates using deepfake technology in video interviews.

And it’s not just deepfakes to be aware of now – candidates are using AI-generated headshots, voice modulators with pitch perfect, coached answers and having AI take personality tests in their place to ensure that their ‘personality’ aligns with the company they are looking to work for.

So, what does this mean for employers?

The rise of AI-enhanced applicants presents a whole new challenge: authenticity.

Recruiters have always looked for the candidate with the right blend of skill, experience, and cultural alignment. But when AI can craft perfect personas on demand, the traditional markers of competence are significantly distorted.

And this isn’t just about fraud, it’s about trust. If candidates are outsourcing their personalities to pass certain employment filters, are companies really hiring people, or hiring their algorithms?

In this new age of AI, employers need to be considering new ways of screening potential candidates:

• Rethink the CV – considerplacing less weight on static documents and instead start investing in task-based assessments and work simulations that are harder to fabricate.
• Double Down on Live Interactions – true AI avatars still struggle with nuance. Use video calls, unscripted follow-ups, and unpredictable questioning to get closer to real responses.
• Embrace the Tools, but Stay Human – yes, AI can help us too – in pattern recognition, in reducing bias, in automating screening processes, and so on. But human intuition still matters more than ever in this increasingly digital world.
• Update your Ethics and Policies – what is your stance on AI-enhanced applications? Where’s the line between smart prep and dishonest presentation? Now would be the time to create clear definitions and distinctions surrounding this, as right now, the waters are still somewhat murky.

The AI application isn’t a threat to employers, but it is a wake-up call. We are now entering into an era where authenticity is becoming a currency, and in this world, the best recruiters won’t just process managers, they will also be truth detectives.

If you would like to discuss how we can help your company create a robust hiring process that takes the everchanging landscape of AI into account, please get in touch with us today!