# First Advantage + Sterling: how AI models rank it, October 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. Named in 2 judge labels across 1 categories by 2 of 14 models. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/vendors/first-advantage-sterling/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background screening | 0% | 54 | 50% | 2 |

## What the models said for it

- "Commonly chosen for international depth and regulated-industry workflows." (GPT-5.4 mini, Background screening)

## And against it

- "Avoid Enterprise Giants (for now): Heavyweights like First Advantage / Sterling and HireRight" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, Background screening)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 13 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise.

- Background screening: 0% to 0%, ±0. New · not ranked in September 2026 · rank 54 of 83.

## 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.