When Worcester software engineer Sam L. clicks “Submit” on a job application, he rarely expects to hear back.

“I’ve applied to about 26 positions so far. I’ve heard nothing about 16 of them,” he told Boston.com. “It is infuriating.”

Sam, 62, was laid off in July and has spent the last three months fine-tuning his resume, tailoring cover letters, and even running his resume through an AI keyword scanner.

“I went from 41% goodness of match to 44% goodness of match. At that point, I said, to heck with this. I’m not going to play this game.”

For many job seekers like Sam — and other Boston.com readers who shared similar frustrations — the process feels like shouting into the void. And for many, AI in hiring has become a convenient target for that frustration.

But experts say while AI to

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