$61.5 billion tech giant Anthropic barred job applicants from using AI tools in the hiring process in May. Just months later, it has changed its mind on the policy—but unemployed Gen Zers (or any other generation for that matter) should watch out for various other guidelines still in place.
Hiring has become an all-out AI war with managers juggling thousands of fake applications from North Korea, meanwhile, job-seekers are grappling with automated interviewers. AI giant Anthropic even got ahead of the curve by (ironically) barring candidates from using chatbots and assistants to prepare for their interview in May—but it’s just backtracked on the ban.
The $61.5 billion technology company alerted Fortune to its recently updated policies. Job seekers can now refine their resumes, cover letters, and applications with AI.
But there’s a catch: They’re still barred from using it during most assessments and while they’re sitting in the interview.
“At Anthropic, we use Claude every day, so we’re looking for candidates who excel at collaborating with AI,” the company wrote in its candidate AI guidelines. “Where it makes sense, we invite you to use Claude to show us more of you: your unique perspective, skills, and experiences.”
The company had previously reasoned that by banning the tools, hiring managers could have a better sense of applicants’ “personal interest” and their “non-AI-assisted communication skills.”
However, Anthropic may be changing its guidelines, as in reality, it’s hard to police, gets candidates using their product, and levels the playing field—since the company uses Claude to create job descriptions, improve interview questions, run candidate communications, and more, it’s only fair that candidates can access such tools too.
“This isn’t revolutionary, but it’s intentional,” Jimmy Gould, head of talent for Anthropic, wrote on LinkedIn. “We recognize that deploying AI in hiring requires careful consideration around fairness and bias, which is why we’re experimenting, testing, and being transparent about our approach.”
The changes to AI in hiring: when Anthropic applicants can use the tech
Anthropic has a few rules for applicants using Claude in the hiring process: they must use the tool thoughtfully, be themselves, and be transparent. Here is where they can and can’t use AI in Anthropic’s hiring process, as the company says, to “use Claude to show us more of you”:
When applying: Applicants should write their own first drafts of resumes, cover letters, and application questions. Then they can use Claude to refine their materials, to “polish how [they] communicate about [their] work.”
During take-home assessments: Candidates can use Claude when instructed to, but otherwise cannot use the tools.
Preparing for interviews: Claude can be used for applicants to research Anthropic, practice their answers, and prepare questions for the interviewer.
During live interviews: No AI assistance is allowed in this part of the process unless told otherwise.
These updated guidelines allow more flexibility after the tools were barred from the process altogether—but candidates shouldn’t get too comfortable with the current process as it could change again. Anthropic revealed it plans to regularly review and update the policy “to reflect evolving AI capabilities.”
How AI is changing the hiring process
Anthropic isn’t the only company that has been wary of job seekers using the tech to get a leg-up. Goldman Sachs similarly issued a warning to students interested in its private investing academy in EMEA, reminding them that the bank “prohibits the use of any external sources, including ChatGPT or Google search engine, during the interview process.”
But the hiring process may already be changed forever, as both recruiters and job-seekers are leveraging the tools in the talent war. Companies like KPMG, Eventbrite, and Progressive are using the technology to sort through thousands of applications, speed up the process, and make better hiring decisions. It’s proved to be an incredibly helpful tool as managers have to comb through piles of documents.
Candidates are increasingly leaning on AI in response to the white-collar job hunt becoming so dire. In 2024, nearly half of job-seekers used generative AI to “build, update, or improve” their resumes, according to a report from Canva.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT seems to be a particularly popular tool, with around 57% of applicants using the chatbot in their job applications, according to a study from consulting firm Neurosight data. And in 2023, around 73% of Americans said they would consider using AI tools in 2024 to help them embellish or lie on their resume, according to a report from StandOut CV.
As some job-seekers apply to jobs for over a year, sending out thousands of applications, AI has become integral in keeping pace and landing a gig.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com