New Delhi, March 12 -- Many harried recruiters would have greeted the release of ChatGPT with glee. At last, a tool that could ease the burden of drafting job descriptions, scheduling interviews and rejecting candidates. Like happy beachgoers who cannot see an approaching tsunami, they failed to predict what came next. A giant wave of AI-generated applications has washed over them.

The number of job applications an average candidate sends has risen by 239% since ChatGPT's release in 2022, according to global data collected by Greenhouse, a provider of applicant-tracking software. Paid services like LazyApply and aiApply let candidates submit applications while they sleep, tailoring resumes and cover letters to a tee. AI has even made it ...