A 2024 survey of 1,200 U.S. hiring managers found that 68% now run AI-detection checks on writing samples, yet most candidates I interview admit they use chatbots for cover letters. Here's what I keep circling: if the job itself will require prompting an AI daily, judging applicants for using one feels like testing whether someone can swim while forbidding water. I've hired two people who wrote with AI and both turned out fine, but I also rejected one whose answers collapsed the moment I asked follow-up questions. Maybe the real signal isn't whether AI touched the draft — it's whether the person understands every sentence they submitted.