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YES

As of 13 August 2026, AI can write a cover letter from your CV.

Most people should do this themselves; the prompt is on this page.

Can you do it?

5 minutesto a draft.

15 minutesto something you’d act on.

Cost, all in£0

Skill needednone

Who has to check ityou

What the alternative costsResume.io is a purpose-built alternative offering AI-assisted CVs and cover letters.

If this goes wrong, the letter sounds generic or contains a claim you cannot support, so you revise it or withdraw that application.

What to actually do

  1. Do it yourself

    The route this page recommends

    A chat interface, no skill needed, and roughly 15 minutes until you can act on the result.

    How to actually do it

    1. Open the full job advert and copy the wording of the responsibilities, essential criteria and desirable criteria into the prompt.
    2. Open your current CV, remove information you do not want to share, and paste the remaining text into the CV section of the prompt.
    3. Write one or two specific sentences about why you want this role or employer, then paste them into the genuine reason section.
    4. Paste the completed prompt into an AI chat and ask it to produce the letter and the separate list of factual claims.
    5. Compare every factual claim in the draft with your CV, and delete or correct anything your CV does not support.
    6. Check that the opening reason is true, the employer and role names are correct, and the letter addresses the advert rather than merely repeating your employment history.
    7. Read the final letter aloud, replace any phrase that does not sound like you, then save it with the correct application documents and send it through the employer's stated application route.

    Prompt

    Write a tailored cover letter for the job advert below, using my CV as the only source of facts about me. Invent nothing, including achievements, qualifications, responsibilities, dates, metrics, motivations or knowledge of the employer. Use plain British English, a professional but natural tone, and keep it to one page. Address the essential and desirable requirements in the advert by linking each relevant requirement to specific evidence from my CV. Do not repeat my CV as a list. Do not use empty phrases such as 'I am a highly motivated individual'. Do not claim that I am passionate, driven, enthusiastic or an excellent communicator unless the evidence in my CV supports the wording. If the CV does not support a requirement, say '[evidence needed]' in your drafting notes rather than making a claim. Include a short opening explaining why this particular role interests me, but use only the genuine reason I provide. After the letter, provide a bullet list of every factual claim you made so I can check it against my CV, and list any missing information that would improve the letter.

Job advert:
[PASTE THE FULL JOB ADVERT HERE]

My CV:
[PASTE MY CV HERE]

My genuine reason for applying:
[WRITE ONE OR TWO SENTENCES HERE]

Name of hiring manager, if known:
[NAME OR LEAVE BLANK]

Company name:
[COMPANY NAME]

    Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.

  2. Use a tool built for this

    Second choice

  3. Hand it to a person

    The distant third

    A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

What it gets wrong

  • AI cannot supply a genuine reason for wanting the employer, so a convincing opening still depends on your own knowledge and motivation.
  • AI cannot know which achievement best represents you when several examples fit the advert.
  • AI cannot reliably detect every unsupported implication created by combining separate CV statements, so you must check the claims list.
  • AI defaults towards polished, familiar wording that can make the letter sound like other applications.
  • AI cannot judge how much personal detail is appropriate for a particular hiring manager or workplace.

Even on a YES, the friction has a name: taste and judgement under ambiguity.

How we scored this

Five axes, each scored nought to two by hand: ten means AI carries the task cleanly, and the thresholds that turn a total into YES, PARTLY or NO are published in the methodology. Each axis name links to its definition.

AxisScore (0–2)
Output2
Inputs2
Verification2
Liability2
Effort delta2
Total10 / 10

The methodology and its thresholds are published in full.

FAQ

Can AI write a cover letter from my CV?
Yes. Give it your CV and the full job advert, tell it to invent nothing, and check every factual claim before sending the letter.
Will AI make my cover letter sound generic?
It can, especially when the prompt contains only your CV and no reason for applying. Add one genuine reason for wanting the particular role, then replace any wording that does not sound like you.
Can AI tailor my cover letter to a job advert?
Yes, it can link evidence from your CV to the advert's requirements and identify gaps where your CV provides no support. It cannot create missing experience or decide which example best reflects you without your judgement.
Should I check an AI-written cover letter before sending it?
Yes. Compare every achievement, qualification, date, responsibility and motivation in the letter with your CV and your actual experience, then check the employer and role details against the advert.

Nearby answers

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Assessed by gpt-5.6-luna (gpt-5.6-luna) on 2026-08-13, second-checked by an independent model. Wrong somewhere? Email [email protected] and it gets re-checked.

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