Disclosing AI in Ontario job postings
If you use artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants, your Ontario job posting must say so. One plain sentence is enough.
Updated October 23, 2026. A summary, not legal advice.En français
In short
- If AI screens, assesses or selects applicants for the job, the posting must say so.
- It applies when a recruiter or a vendor uses AI for you, too.
- One sentence is enough; you don't have to describe the tool.
- Name AI: a line about an "automated system" or an "applicant tracking system" may not count.
What the law says
- An employer who uses artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants for the position must include a statement in the posting disclosing that use. (ESA, s. 8.4 (1))
- Artificial intelligence is a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers from the input it receives to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions. (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 2 (1))
- The Ministry's guide says the rule applies when a third party, such as a recruiting firm, screens, assesses or selects applicants for you, and that it's enough to state that AI is used. Whether a particular tool is AI depends on the facts. (Ministry's guide)
Wording you can copy
Formal
We use artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants for this position.
Plain
We use AI tools to help screen, assess or select applicants.
A recruiter uses AI
Our recruiting partner uses artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants for this position.
Before and after
How to apply: Send your resume through our careers page. Applications are reviewed by our automated system.
How to apply: Send your resume through our careers page. We use artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants for this position.
"Automated system" doesn't tell applicants that AI is used. The fix says it in the law's own words.
How CheckON checks it
CheckON looks for a sentence that discloses AI and asks whether you, or a recruiter working for you, use AI on this job. If you do and the posting doesn't say so, it adds the formal sentence above; nothing changes until you approve it.
Who the rules apply to
Employers with 25 or more employees in Ontario on the day the job is posted, for public postings of a specific job done in Ontario, on your careers page, a job board or a recruiter's site. A posting open only to current employees, or a general "we're hiring" campaign that names no job, isn't covered. (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 1; O. Reg. 476/24, s. 2 (1))
Questions people ask
Do Ontario job postings have to disclose AI?
Yes, when the employer uses artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants for that job (ESA, s. 8.4 (1)). If you don't use AI, the posting doesn't need an AI statement.
Does my applicant tracking system count as AI?
It depends on what it does. The regulation defines AI as a machine-based system that infers from its input to produce outputs such as predictions, recommendations or decisions, and the Ministry says it depends on the facts. CheckON treats resume ranking, scoring and matching, and chat screening, as AI, the cautious reading; storing applications and sending emails isn't.
Our recruiter uses AI, not us. Do we still disclose it?
Yes. The Ministry's guide says the rule applies when a third party, such as a recruiting firm, screens, assesses or selects applicants for you.
How detailed does the statement have to be?
Not detailed. The Ministry's guide says it's enough to state that artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants. You can say more if you want to.
Should the posting say we don't use AI?
The law doesn't ask for it. If you don't use AI to screen, assess or select applicants, you can leave AI out of the posting.
The other rules
- Pay rangeShow the expected pay, or a range no wider than $50,000 a year.
- Canadian experienceDon't require Canadian experience in the posting or its application form.
- Existing vacancySay whether the job is an existing vacancy, or not.
- 45-day replyTell each interviewed applicant within 45 days whether a decision was made.
- 3-year recordsKeep each posting, its form and your interview updates for 3 years.
Sources: the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), Part III.1 and s. 15, O. Reg. 476/24 and the Government of Ontario's guide to the job posting requirements. This page summarises them and isn't legal advice; for your situation, talk to an employment lawyer.