Google promotes artificial intelligence tools to help companies streamline recruitment, but one of its own AI teams has reportedly warned job applicants that the company’s hiring system could work against them. Google DeepMind’s AGI Safety and Alignment Team has told candidates that CVs could be incorrectly screened out or take too long to reach the relevant hiring team.

According to a document seen by Bloomberg, applicants to the team are being asked to submit a separate form along with their applications to reduce the possibility of their CVs being missed by Google’s internal recruitment systems. Google DeepMind has disputed the suggestion that its screening systems incorrectly filter candidates, saying the form allows the team to receive applications directly.

Google DeepMind Warns Applicants About Screening System

The AGI Safety and Alignment Team, which works on reducing risks associated with advanced artificial intelligence, has reportedly created a special process for candidates applying for its open positions.

A document seen by Bloomberg, marked “PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS DOC WIDELY”, advises applicants to complete an additional form alongside their standard application.

The document says the measure is intended to ensure that applications reach a human reviewer instead of being incorrectly filtered by the company’s recruitment system.

“We have an applications system with a non-trivial probability your CV will be screened out incorrectly or take too long to reach us,” the document says. “Filling out this form makes sure that a real human on the team will get to see your application.”

The warning is notable because Google itself develops and promotes AI-powered recruitment tools for employers, raising questions about the reliability of automated screening even within a company at the forefront of AI development.

Google Disputes Claims of Incorrect Filtering

Google DeepMind has rejected the suggestion that its recruitment systems are incorrectly filtering applicants.

A spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company aims to “recruit and hire the most qualified talent at Google DeepMind” and explained that the additional form was created to allow the team to receive CVs directly instead of relying on the usual recruiter review process.

“This team set up a special form to go past the recruiter review, and get their resumes direct to the people on the team. But there are no shortcuts to getting hired,” the spokesperson said.

The team therefore appears to be using the additional form as a way to ensure direct visibility of applications rather than as an alternative route to employment.

AI Is Reshaping Recruitment

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being incorporated into recruitment, with employers using the technology to write job descriptions, analyse CVs, identify potential candidates and manage interview pipelines.

Google itself markets Gemini for HR as a tool that can help recruiters analyse resumes, identify qualified applicants, monitor hiring pipelines and forecast recruitment requirements.

However, the growing use of AI in recruitment has also raised concerns about the reliability and fairness of automated screening systems.

Google’s reported experience highlights one side of the problem, where potentially qualified candidates could be missed by automated systems. At the same time, applicants are increasingly finding ways to manipulate AI-based screening tools to improve their chances of being selected.

Job Seekers Are Also Using AI To Influence Screening

A 2025 report by The New York Times found that some job seekers had embedded instructions in their CVs designed to influence AI-powered recruitment systems and improve their position in the screening process.

In one case, a recruiter discovered that an applicant had inserted a prompt instructing ChatGPT to describe the candidate as an exceptionally qualified applicant.

The growing use of generative AI by candidates has created another challenge for recruiters. Applicants can now produce CVs, cover letters and responses to application questions much more quickly, potentially increasing the volume of generic applications received by employers.

The Google DeepMind team reportedly warned applicants that human reviewers were becoming tired of reading generic responses generated by large language models that “all sound very samey”.

Concerns Over Bias in AI Hiring

Questions have also been raised over whether automated recruitment systems can evaluate candidates fairly and without introducing discriminatory biases.

A 2026 US federal court ruling allowed claims to proceed against Workday in the class action Mobley v. Workday. The case involves allegations that Workday’s AI-powered recruitment software discriminated against applicants based on factors including race, age and disability. Workday has denied the allegations and said its systems are designed to support responsible hiring.

Academic research has raised similar concerns about the ability of AI systems to accurately assess candidates. A July 2025 paper titled “Fairness Is Not Enough: Auditing Competence and Intersectional Bias in AI-powered Resume Screening”, by researcher Kevin T. Webster, examined AI-powered CV screening and found that some systems could rely on superficial signals or keyword matching rather than meaningfully assessing applicants’ qualifications.

Other research has also found that AI systems can produce different outcomes depending on demographic information or signals contained in a CV.

AI Hiring Creates Challenges for Both Sides

The reported warning from Google DeepMind illustrates the growing complexity of AI-assisted recruitment. Companies are turning to automated systems to manage large volumes of applications, while candidates are increasingly using AI to produce and optimise their own applications.

This creates the possibility of errors, bias and manipulation on both sides of the recruitment process. While AI can help employers process applications more efficiently, concerns remain over whether automated systems can reliably identify the most qualified candidates.

The growing reliance on AI in hiring therefore presents employers with a difficult balance between efficiency and human oversight, particularly as applicants become more aware of how automated recruitment systems work.

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