Over 90 Percent of Companies Use AI in Hiring, But Fewer Than 5 Percent See Real Results

Artificial intelligence has firmly entered HR departments, but companies are finding it increasingly hard to say whether it pays off. A study by ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions and Everest Group found that more than 90 percent of organizations have already deployed AI in talent acquisition processes, yet fewer than 5 percent of them report results that could be called transformational.

The report, titled "The New Talent Equation: Building Better Talent Decisions," was commissioned by ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions. The analysis was conducted by research firm Everest Group, which surveyed 80 C-suite executives, chief human resources officers, and talent acquisition leaders in the United States and the United Kingdom, representing the healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, and technology sectors. The results were published on June 23, 2026, and have recently been widely covered by trade press in Poland as well, including CRN Polska.

Adoption scale versus real results

The scale of adoption is impressive. More than 90 percent of surveyed organizations already use AI in talent-related processes, and the breakdown of use cases shows the tools are landing first where the work is most repetitive. Candidate sourcing and initial resume screening were each cited by 73 percent of respondents, chatbot-based candidate communication by 51 percent, and interview scheduling by 45 percent.

AI supports more complex decisions far less often. Talent assessment was cited by 39 percent of respondents, workforce planning by 26 percent, and employer branding and offer management by just 11 percent each. Despite such broad deployment, the share of organizations describing the results as transformational stays below 5 percent, which the report's authors say points to a gap between simply adopting the technology and actually changing how personnel decisions get made.

The candidate assessment problem

The most troubling finding for HR departments, however, is not about recruiters' own tools but about a side effect of candidates' widespread use of AI. 54 percent of HR leaders admit that artificial intelligence, used by applicants to write resumes, cover letters, or interview answers, significantly complicates fairly assessing their actual skills. In other words, the same trend that was supposed to speed up and objectify selection on the company side is, on the candidate side, blurring the line between real skills and a generated presentation.

As a result, more and more organizations are shifting the focus of assessment toward traits that are hard for an algorithm to simulate: intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, resilience, collaboration skills, and the ability to make data-driven decisions. That reverses the logic of a few years ago, when AI in hiring was marketed mainly as a way to speed up and standardize selection.

Barriers to adoption

The report also points to specific obstacles that explain why adoption isn't translating into results. 58 percent of surveyed organizations name change management as the main barrier, while 55 percent each point to governance and compliance issues and limited data readiness. At the same time, 72 percent of companies that achieved the expected results did so within two years of deployment, and 26 percent captured business value in under a year, suggesting results are achievable but require time and organizational changes that go beyond simply buying a tool license.

AI doesn't transform talent evenly, it exposes it - Caroline Pfeiffer Marinho, Global Senior Vice President, Talent Solutions RPO and Right Management, ManpowerGroup

The conversation around AI transformation has so far focused mainly on deploying the technology. The bigger challenge lies elsewhere - Sailesh Hota, Vice President, Everest Group

What it means for Polish companies

The study covered only the US and UK markets, but the mechanism it describes applies to Poland too, where AI in hiring is spreading just as fast and candidates increasingly use chatbots to write resumes and prepare for interviews. Polish HR departments therefore face the same dilemma as their counterparts abroad: the tools speed up early-stage selection but don't automatically solve the problem of reliably assessing competence, and without changes to processes and recruiter skills, the investment in technology may not deliver the expected return.

For companies, that carries a practical lesson: buying an AI resume-screening tool alone isn't enough unless it's paired with a redesign of the assessment stages where direct contact with the candidate matters, along with practical tasks or interviews that verify real skills rather than just the quality of the generated application materials.