A survey of more than 1,000 U.S. front-line workers, conducted in June 2026 by Propeller Insights and commissioned by hiring software company Fountain, found that workers object less to AI in hiring than to opacity about it. Only 1 in 4 respondents said they were opposed to AI in hiring, while nearly 3 in 4 said their trust in an organization was shaped by how it explained its AI use. Almost 50% said they were more comfortable with AI in hiring when a person reviews final decisions, and 42% wanted the option to reach a human at any point. Comfort was highest for interview scheduling (40%), role communication (38%) and candidate screening (29%). On process failures, 62% of applicants said they were ghosted after multiple interview rounds, 32% never heard back after their most recent interview, and about 20% cited unexplained automated rejections as the most exasperating part. Fountain CEO Sean Behr said workers want to know where they stand and who decides.