Key findings
- 1
85.7% of AI training application forms require a resume and 72.4% ask for a LinkedIn profile; only 17.4% ask for a cover letter.
- 2
The screening questions asked most often concern languages spoken or fluency (32.3% of forms), degree or field of study (20.6% of forms) and experience or years in a field (19.3% of forms).
- 3
A typical form has 10 fields; 28.2% of forms have 16 or more.
- 4
Volga Partners has the longest forms (a median of 31 fields) and Terac the shortest (3).
- 5
Greenhouse runs 44.6% of the application forms read, across 13 platforms.
Figure 1
What applications ask for
Which documents and profiles do AI training applications ask for?
| Item | Forms asking | Forms requiring it |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | 99.2% | 86.6% |
| Resume or CV | 97.7% | 85.7% |
| Location or country | 88.6% | 82.0% |
| LinkedIn profile | 72.4% | 41.3% |
| GitHub profile | 27.1% | 0.1% |
| Current employer | 22.2% | 0.0% |
| Portfolio or website | 20.2% | 0.1% |
| Cover letter | 17.4% | 0.1% |
| Other file uploads | 7.0% | 0.0% |
Sample. 1,682 application forms of roles open on 31 Oct 2026, read from the platforms' own applicant-tracking systems (38.4% of all open roles).
Required: the form will not submit without it. Name and email, asked by every form, are not listed.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, How AI Training Applications Work, October 2026 edition.
Figure 2
Screening questions asked
What do AI training applications ask beyond a resume?
| Question theme | Forms asking |
|---|---|
| Languages spoken or fluency | 32.3% |
| Degree or field of study | 20.6% |
| Experience or years in a field | 19.3% |
| Expected pay or rate | 14.4% |
| Work authorization or visa sponsorship | 14.3% |
| Prior AI training or annotation work | 12.1% |
| Availability, hours or start date | 7.7% |
| Age or being over 18 | 2.4% |
| Licence or certification | 0.1% |
| How you heard about the role | 0.1% |
| Demographics (gender, race, veteran, disability) | 0.0% |
Sample. 1,682 application forms of roles open on 31 Oct 2026, read from the platforms' own applicant-tracking systems (38.4% of all open roles); themes read from the label of each question the platform adds to its form.
A question can match more than one theme. Demographic questions are usually optional and asked for equal-opportunity reporting.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, How AI Training Applications Work, October 2026 edition.
Figure 3
How long application forms are
How many questions stand between a person and an AI training role?
| Form length | Forms | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 fields | 154 | 9.2% |
| 6 to 10 fields | 754 | 44.8% |
| 11 to 15 fields | 299 | 17.8% |
| 16 to 25 fields | 373 | 22.2% |
| 26 fields or more | 102 | 6.1% |
Sample. 1,682 application forms of roles open on 31 Oct 2026, read from the platforms' own applicant-tracking systems (38.4% of all open roles).
Fields: every input on the form, from name and email to the last screening question.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, How AI Training Applications Work, October 2026 edition.
Figure 4
Application forms by platform
Which platforms ask the most of applicants?
| Platform | Median fields | Median own questions | Resume required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volga Partners | 31 | 22 | 100.0% |
| PointClickCareSmall sample | 27 | 12 | 100.0% |
| RWS TrainAI Community | 25 | 13 | 100.0% |
| Vetto | 22 | 13 | 5.0% |
| xAI (SpaceXAI) | 21 | 8 | 100.0% |
| AnthropicSmall sample | 20 | 13 | 100.0% |
| Edison ScientificSmall sample | 20 | 13 | 100.0% |
| Innodata | 19 | 12 | 96.8% |
| Sigma AI | 18 | 9 | 98.8% |
| TransPerfect DataForce | 18 | 10 | 92.1% |
| Handshake AISmall sample | 17 | 10 | 100.0% |
| Welo Data | 17 | 4 | 100.0% |
| HeadwaySmall sample | 14 | 7 | 0.0% |
| Sama | 14 | 6 | 100.0% |
| TrellisSmall sample | 14 | 3 | 0.0% |
| Appen | 13 | 6 | 0.0% |
| Cohere | 13 | 8 | 100.0% |
| Snorkel AI Expert CommunitySmall sample | 13 | 3 | 100.0% |
| Vals AISmall sample | 13 | 9 | 100.0% |
| Scale AI Human Frontier Collective | 13 | 5 | 70.0% |
| Anyone AI | 12 | 5 | 100.0% |
| Remotasks | 12 | 5 | 100.0% |
| Mistral AI | 11 | 2 | 0.0% |
| EvolutionIQSmall sample | 10 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Invisible | 10 | 2 | 99.4% |
| JazzX AISmall sample | 9 | 2 | 0.0% |
| Prolific | 9 | 2 | 0.0% |
| Elsevier Health | 8 | 2 | 100.0% |
| LimbicSmall sample | 7 | 4 | 100.0% |
| Mindrift | 7 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Weekday | 5 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Inworld AISmall sample | 3 | 0 | 100.0% |
| KastleSmall sample | 3 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Terac | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
Sample. 1,682 application forms of roles open on 31 Oct 2026, read from the platforms' own applicant-tracking systems (38.4% of all open roles).
Own questions: fields the platform adds beyond the applicant system's standard ones (name, contact, resume, profiles).
No row with any forms is a small sample: the rows differ so much that each reads on its own from its first. Medians need at least 3 forms.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, How AI Training Applications Work, October 2026 edition.
Figure 5
The applicant-tracking systems behind the forms
Which hiring software do AI training platforms use?
| System | Forms | Share of forms read | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse | 751 | 44.6% | 13 |
| Lever | 371 | 22.1% | 5 |
| Workable | 257 | 15.3% | 3 |
| Ashby | 184 | 10.9% | 11 |
| Teamtailor | 119 | 7.1% | 2 |
Sample. 1,682 application forms of roles open on 31 Oct 2026, read from the platforms' own applicant-tracking systems (38.4% of all open roles).
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, How AI Training Applications Work, October 2026 edition.
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Method and definitions
The application forms of open roles, read from the platforms' own applicant-tracking systems (Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, Workable and others). Every figure is computed by one database query over the window shown, the same query for the live report and for every edition. Each figure states its sample beneath it.
- Application form
- The fields an applicant fills in on the platform's own application page, read with the posting from its applicant-tracking system.
- Required
- The form will not submit without the field.
- Screening question
- A question the platform adds beyond the system's standard fields; its theme is read from its label with documented patterns.
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- A role listed by a given day and still in its platform's feed that day.
- Window
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What this data cannot tell you
- Platforms that recruit without a public job board are not counted. Several large ones invite workers to projects directly.
- A listing is not a hire. Some platforms keep evergreen roles open for months, and some post one listing per language or country.
- Some platforms apply in steps (a short form, then an assessment); only the first form is read.
How the job feeds are read and roles are classified: site methodology. How fresh, complete and consistent the data is, checked every day: data quality and coverage.
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The live report covers the last 28 complete days and changes every day. Each complete month is also published as an edition, frozen two days after the month ends, so a figure you cite from an edition never moves.
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- October 2026 edition (this page)Freezes on first reading
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Free to quote, chart and republish under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page. This edition is frozen, so its figures will read the same later.
Citation
AITraining.jobs (2026). How AI Training Applications Work, October 2026 edition. https://aitraining.jobs/research/how-ai-training-applications-work/2026-10
BibTeX
@misc{aitrainingjobs_how_ai_training_applications_work_2026_10,
author = {{AITraining.jobs}},
title = {How AI Training Applications Work, October 2026 edition},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://aitraining.jobs/research/how-ai-training-applications-work/2026-10}},
}More research
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