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As AI continues to develop, so does its role in recruitment, but that doesn’t mean it’s straightforward. Following on from last year’s Perspectives on AI in Charity Sector Recruitment report, we’ve carried out further research to understand how recruiters are using AI today and how this has changed over the past year.
Our new report revisits a lot of the same questions, looking at if and how recruiters are using AI in recruitment – and how this has changed – as well as introducing some new topics.
We analysed responses from 3,207 candidates and 145 recruiters. In this blog, we highlight some of the key findings from the recruiter survey, focusing on the use of AI in the recruitment process and recruiters’ perspectives on it.
You can read more about how candidates are using AI and their views on it here. For the full findings, download the Perspectives on AI in Charity Sector Recruitment 2026 report.
Familiarity with AI
83% of respondents said they were familiar with AI; this is notably higher than last year’s finding where 69% said they were familiar with AI.
Use of AI in recruitment
The number of recruiters who had used AI doubled in comparison to last year, however more than half still hadn’t ever used AI to help them with their recruitment. Those who hadn’t used it were then asked if they were open to using it, where 7% said yes, 55% said somewhat and 38% said no.
Among those who had used AI, the top three uses were writing job descriptions, creating interview questions and CV/cover letter or other initial screening.
Positives and negatives of AI
Recruiters were given some statements and asked to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed. 70% of recruiters agreed they were concerned about negative consequences of AI. So, although this was lower than last year’s 77%, there was still a sense of caution and wariness of its risks and limitations.
Just over half of recruiters disagreed that AI creates more job opportunities, and 39% were on the middle ground. 53% disagreed that AI will have minimal impact on charity recruitment meaning they could expect bigger changes still to come.
In comparison to last year’s data, recruiters seem to be slightly more optimistic overall this year.
Trust in AI
When looking at how much recruiters trust the decisions made by AI, half of recruiters were unsure, selecting neither likely nor unlikely, and nearly a third of respondents said unlikely.
Although overall trust remains low, in comparison to the previous year’s findings, it has grown by 8%. In practice, this may suggest recruiters are becoming more comfortable using AI as a support tool but are still retaining human oversight of decisions.
Concerns around candidates’ usage of AI
Recruiters were asked about their concerns about candidates’ use of AI. The most common concern, selected by three quarters of respondents, was that AI can hide a candidate’s true skills and personality. This view was reflected in the open comments at the end of the survey where recruiters noted that applications seemed to be becoming more AI-generated and often sounded similar, making it difficult to assess an individual’s skill.
The second most cited concern was that AI undermines the value of writing or presentation skills, closely followed by worries about an increased risk of dishonest or misleading information.
Awareness of the UK AI bill
The UK AI bill is a set of laws that govern how AI is used, so that usage is ethical and safe, protecting people’s rights while still allowing innovation to develop.
When asked if recruiters were aware of the proposed AI bill, half said they weren’t aware of it and 42% said they’ve heard of it but didn’t know the details. 2% weren’t aware of it and a further 6% said they’d heard of it and had concerns.
The new bill could significantly impact recruitment by introducing stricter controls on the use of AI. Organisations would need to demonstrate that their AI systems are unbiased and non-discriminatory, which could mean more regular assessment and transparency needed on the use of AI in recruitment.
Final thoughts on AI in recruitment
At the end of the survey recruiters were asked for any final thoughts on AI in recruitment. There were mixed views, with concerns outweighing positives. Key issues included overreliance on AI and the risk of hidden biases that could lead to high quality candidates being overlooked. However, some positives were noted, particularly AI’s ability to streamline the recruitment process and simplify tasks, such as scheduling interviews.
Overall, the findings suggest that there is growth in AI usage in recruitment, however it’s being used as more of an assistive tool than a decision maker, with human judgement continuing to play a central role in recruitment decisions.
To find out more about recruiters’ usage and perspectives on AI, please download the full report.
