Telling Candidates You Use AI: What to Disclose and How to Word It

Tell candidates, in plain language and before they apply, that you use an automated tool in hiring, what it is used for, what it looks at, that a person reviews decisions, how to ask for an alternative process or human review, and how their data is used and kept. Several places now expect this. New York City requires notice for automated employment decision tools. Illinois has required notice for AI used in employment decisions since 1 January 2026. Colorado's amended AI law, reported to take effect on 1 January 2027, includes notice duties. UK and EU data protection law requires transparency about processing and about automated decisions. Rules and guidance are changing, so check current text for each place where you recruit. This is general information, not legal advice, as of October 2026.

Notice is only one duty. It works best as part of a process that is also fair.

Where the duties come from

Treat this table as a map to the sources, not a substitute for them.

What to disclose

1. That an automated tool is used in your hiring process.
2. What it does: for example, "scores applications against the requirements for the role".
3. What it looks at: resume content, answers to questions, test results.
4. How its output is used: advisory, with a person reviewing, or automatic.
5. That a person makes the final decision, if true. Do not claim it unless it is.
6. How to ask for an alternative process, human review or an adjustment. See reasonable adjustments in hiring.
7. What data is collected, how long it is kept and how to ask for access or deletion. See candidate data retention.
8. A contact for questions.

Include any particular items the local rule requires, such as the job qualifications and characteristics the tool assesses.

A plain-language notice

"How we use technology in hiring

We use a software tool to help us read applications. It compares your resume and answers with the requirements for the role and shows our recruiters which requirements it found evidence for. It does not make hiring decisions. A recruiter reviews every shortlist and makes the decision.

If you would prefer that a person reads your application without the tool, or if you need an adjustment, email [address] before or after you apply, and we will arrange it.

We keep your application for [period] and then delete it. You can ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it or to delete it. For questions, contact [name and email]."

Adapt it to your tool and your location. Do not publish a statement that is not true of your process.

Where to place it

• On the job posting and the application page, before candidates submit.
• In the acknowledgement email.
• In your privacy notice, with more detail.
• On your careers page.

Make it easy to find, and keep it short. A long legal block at the foot of a page is unlikely to meet the aim of informing people. See job application form design.

Alternatives and human review

Where laws expect an alternative or human review on request, set up a route and a person responsible. Decide how you will handle it: for example, a recruiter reads the resume without the tool and scores it against the same criteria. Use the same standard for all, and record requests and outcomes.

Tell people what the tool looks at

Candidates are more comfortable when they understand the basis of a decision. Tools that show evidence from the resume for each requirement make this easier to explain. In Resume World, each score points to the lines in the resume that support it, and decisions remain with the recruiter. That helps you give a clear answer to a candidate who asks why they were not shortlisted. See candidate feedback after rejection and compliant AI hiring.

What disclosure does not do

Notice does not replace a bias audit where one is required, testing for adverse impact or proper human oversight. See AI hiring audit checklist and the four-fifths rule. It also does not make a poor tool fair, and a misleading notice can create its own risk.

Keep it current

Review the notice whenever you change tools, settings or locations, and at least once a year. Date it, and keep old versions so that you can show what candidates saw at the time they applied.