# Applicant tracking systems: what AI models recommend, October 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "applicant tracking system" and as "ATS", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/talent/applicant-tracking-systems/

**Standing:** Greenhouse leads with 40% of first choices; verdict contested. 58 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenhouse | 40% | 4% | 55 |
| 2 | Breezy HR | 12% | 4% | 23 |
| 3 | Ashby | 10% | 0% | 32 |
| 4 | Workable | 9% | 8% | 37 |
| 5 | Zoho Recruit | 9% | 0% | 28 |
| 6 | Lever | 7% | 2% | 44 |
| 7 | Pinpoint | 3% | 0% | 18 |
| 8 | Manatal | 3% | 9% | 11 |
| 9 | JazzHR | 0% | 9% | 23 |
| 10 | BambooHR | 0% | 7% | 15 |
| 11 | Rippling | 0% | 0% | 12 |
| 12 | SmartRecruiters | 0% | 7% | 14 |

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Greenhouse; alternatives Ashby, Lever, Pinpoint, Workable
- GPT-5.4 mini: Greenhouse; alternatives Ashby, Lever
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Ashby; alternatives Greenhouse, Lever, Pinpoint, Teamtailor
- Perplexity Sonar: Greenhouse; alternatives Gem, Jobvite, Lever, Workable
- Grok 4.1 Fast: Greenhouse; alternatives Lever, Workable
- Mistral Small: Greenhouse, Pinpoint; alternatives Ceipal, JazzHR, iCIMS
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Greenhouse; alternatives Ashby, Lever
- Llama 4 Maverick: Greenhouse; alternatives JazzHR, iCIMS
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Greenhouse; alternatives Ashby, Lever
- Kimi K2: Greenhouse; alternatives Ashby, BambooHR, JazzHR, Lever
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Greenhouse; alternatives Lever, Rippling, Workable
- MiniMax M2.5: Greenhouse, Lever; alternatives Bullhorn, Workable
- GPT-6 Luna: Ashby; alternatives Greenhouse, Lever
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Greenhouse; alternatives Lever

## Sources the answers cite

72 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- pinpointhq.com: 38 answers, 41 citations
- forbes.com: 35 answers, 50 citations
- pin.com: 30 answers, 40 citations
- zapier.com: 26 answers, 26 citations
- greenhouse.com: 24 answers, 30 citations
- lever.co: 24 answers, 28 citations
- capterra.com: 20 answers, 28 citations
- selectsoftwarereviews.com: 19 answers, 26 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://pinpointhq.com/insights/best-applicant-tracking-system (36 answers)
- https://pin.com/blog/best-applicant-tracking-systems (27 answers)
- https://zapier.com/blog/best-applicant-tracking-systems (26 answers)
- https://forbes.com/advisor/business/best-applicant-tracking-systems (24 answers)
- https://forbes.com/advisor/in/business/software/best-applicant-tracking-systems (22 answers)
- https://gem.com/blog/best-applicant-tracking-system (17 answers)
- https://metaview.ai/resources/blog/best-applicant-tracking-software (16 answers)
- https://greenhouse.com/blog/best-ats-software (15 answers)
- https://resources.rework.com/tools/recruiting-ats/best-applicant-tracking-systems-2026 (15 answers)
- https://capterra.com/resources/best-applicant-tracking-system (14 answers)

## Warned against

- Workday Recruiting: 11 of 20 labels negative. "❌ The Worst Offenders: Workday and Oracle Taleo ... It is widely considered the most frustrating ATS for job seekers." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt)
- iCIMS: 12 of 26 labels negative. "ATS platforms that consistently receive negative feedback or have documented weaknesses... Limited customization... Poor customer support" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Oracle Taleo: 8 of 10 labels negative. "Taleo is famous for having a dated, slow interface that forces applicants through a dozen pages of redundant disclosures and manual data entry." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt)
- SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting: 4 of 6 labels negative. "Very long implementation timelines (12–18 months)... Can become a heavy financial and administrative burden." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 13 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Greenhouse at 39%.

- Greenhouse: 47% to 39%, −7. Inside the floor by 6 points · rank 1 of 54, unchanged.
- Breezy HR: 18% to 12%, −6. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 2 of 54, unchanged.
- Workable: 4% to 10%, +5. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 6 → 4 of 54.
- Ashby: 7% to 10%, +3. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 5 → 3 of 54.
- Zoho Recruit: 9% to 6%, −3. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 3 → 6 of 54.
- Manatal: 2% to 4%, +2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 8 of 54, unchanged.
- Lever: 7% to 8%, +1. Inside the floor by 12 points · rank 4 → 5 of 54.
- Pinpoint: 4% to 4%, −1. Inside the floor by 12 points · rank 7 of 54, unchanged.
- JazzHR: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 11 → 13 of 54.
- BambooHR: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 10 → 14 of 54.
- Rippling: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 13 → 15 of 54.
- SmartRecruiters: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 12 → 18 of 54.

## Record

- Method: https://hr-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://hr-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, hr-ai-index.com.