Gen Z is misusing AI in their cover letters, according to a career consultant.

Digital natives of Gen Z have rapidly embraced AI, utilizing it for a wide range of tasks including researching assignments and planning vacations.

But, it seems, they've been making mistakes along the way.

Shoshana Davis, a Gen Z career expert and founder of Fairy Job Mother, stated in an interview with CNBC Make It that the generation, typically defined as those born between 1996 and 2012, have become overly dependent on AI tools such as ChatGPT to create cover letters and job application responses.

"Davis stated that he communicates with businesses and employers who hire Gen Z in numbers ranging from 10 to thousands annually. One of the main challenges he currently observes is the incorrect and ineffective use of AI, particularly ChatGPT, in the workplace."

According to Davis, employers are receiving hundreds of identical cover letters and responses to job application questions, which he believes may be due to ChatGPT use.

A Canva survey of 5,000 hiring managers and 5,000 job seekers from the U.K., U.S., India, Germany, Spain, France, Mexico, and Brazil found that 45% of job seekers have used AI to improve their resumes.

According to a February Grammarly survey of 1,002 knowledge workers and 253 business leaders, it appears that Gen Z is the most reliant on AI for work tasks, with 61% of them stating that they cannot imagine performing their tasks without generative AI.

Davis advised that we should "absolutely adopt technology and AI" but cautioned against using ChatGPT to copy answers, which could negatively impact job prospects.

Over half of the 625 hiring managers surveyed by Resume Genius disliked AI-generated resumes and would view it as a red flag, decreasing their likelihood of hiring a candidate.

'100 identical responses'

An ineffective way of utilizing AI is by copying ChatGPT's responses because the chatbot does not always offer dependable information.

OpenAI announced in September 2023 that ChatGPT's knowledge base was expanded beyond data released before September 2021, resolving an initial issue with the model.

"The company website states that ChatGPT is not connected to the internet and may produce incorrect answers, has limited knowledge of world events after 2021, and can sometimes provide harmful instructions or biased content."

An employer that Davis works with recently posted a job opening for a brand marketing position and inquired about candidates' favorite fitness-related product launches from the past year in the job application.

According to Davis, the employer acknowledged that the 100 identical responses of "my favorite campaign launch was Peloton" were likely influenced by the ad campaign from Peloton in 2020, but also acknowledged that Peloton had been released several years prior.

Davis emphasized the importance of young people learning how to use ChatGPT correctly and not solely relying on it for copying answers.

'It should be used as a tool, not a replacement'

AI can assist you in various ways during the job application process, such as preparing for interviews and researching companies.

Davis advised that ChatGPT can be useful in the job search process, but it should be utilized as a tool rather than a replacement.

Michelle Reisdorf, district director at recruitment firm Robert Half, concurred with CNBC Make It's previous stance and stated that AI is effective for "correcting and improving what you've already written, but it is not a comprehensive solution for creating the ideal resume."

Recruiters can detect if you're not providing specific job details or writing in a personal, human tone.

Davis stated that she employs ChatGPT to organize her documents, generate ideas, and draft content, but she does not simply enter a query and then copy and paste her answers.