Zeku Inc. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Shota Kondo) conducted a survey titled "Recruitment Management System (ATS) Usage Status Survey 2026 - Changes in Satisfaction and Selection Criteria for Major ATS" targeting 1,008 HR and recruitment managers, or those responsible for recruitment, at companies hiring new graduates and mid-career professionals.

Amidst intensifying recruitment competition due to a declining labor population, the adoption of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) is progressing in many companies. However, there are also many voices expressing concerns such as "manual work remains despite claims of integrated management" and "responses during nights and holidays are not keeping up."

This survey clarifies the actual usage status of ATS, satisfaction levels by function, and automation rates by system used, highlighting the bottlenecks remaining in the field.

[Survey Overview]

[Survey Name] Recruitment Management System (ATS) Usage Status Survey 2026 (Changes in Satisfaction and Selection Criteria for Major ATS)

[Survey Period] March 3, 2026 (Tue) - March 5, 2026 (Thu)

[Survey Method] Internet survey conducted by PRIZMA (https://www.prizma-link.com/press)

[Number of Respondents] 1,008 people

[Target Audience] Monitors who responded as HR/recruitment managers or recruitment supervisors at companies hiring new graduates and mid-career professionals.

[Survey Provider] Zeku Inc. (https://zeku.co.jp/)

[Monitor Provider] Sakurisa

*This survey targets companies that handle 50 or more applications per month.

Attributes of Survey Respondents (Breakdown of Responding Companies)

[Figure 1] Distribution of Employee Size of Responding Companies (Recruitment Managers n=1,008)

Approximately 80% of the responding companies had 300 or more employees (22.2% for companies with 300-499 employees / 24.4% for 500-999 employees / 14.7% for 1,000-2,999 employees / 21.6% for 3,000+ employees). The data is based on the premise of companies with a certain organizational size that constantly conduct recruitment with multiple individuals.

[Survey Summary]

- ATS Adoption Rate: 83.6% / Widely established as infrastructure for recruitment operations

- "Full Automation" of Application to Interview Scheduling: 22.8% / Manual work remains in approximately 80% of companies

- Full Automation of "Initial Interview Invitation" (including nights/holidays): 34.5% / Room for improvement in initial response and reminders

- Overall Satisfaction: Average 6.5 (Median 7) / Small differences between products, indicating standardization

- Top Automation Rate by ATS Used: 46.4% / System selection significantly impacts operational efficiency

Survey Results 1 | ATS Adoption Rate is 83.6%, Established as Recruitment Infrastructure

[Figure 2] ATS Adoption Rate (Recruitment Managers n=1,008)

Question: Do you currently use a recruitment management system (ATS) at your company? (n=1,008, single response)

83.6% of companies responded that they "are using" an ATS. The use of dedicated systems has become common in the majority of companies. On the other hand, 15.1% responded "not using (managing with spreadsheets, email, etc.)," and 1.3% responded "don't know."

Survey Results 2 | "Full Automation" of Application to Interview Scheduling Only 22.8%

[Figure 3] Automation Status of Application Reception to Interview Scheduling Confirmation (Recruitment Managers n=1,008)

Question: To what extent is the process from application reception to interview scheduling confirmation automated? (n=1,008, single response)

Regarding the process from application reception to interview scheduling confirmation, only 22.8% of companies responded that it is "almost entirely automated (almost no manual work)."

The most common response was "about half automated" at 54.3%, followed by "partially automated (mostly manual work)" at 19.0%, and "mostly manual work / don't know" at 3.9%. Processes involving human intervention remain in approximately 80% of companies.

Survey Results 3 | Full Automation of Initial Interview Invitation (including nights/holidays) is 34.5%

[Figure 4] Automation Status of Initial Interview Invitation Immediately After Application (Candidate Date Proposal) (ATS Users n=843)

Question: Is the initial interview invitation (candidate date proposal) immediately after application automated, including nights and holidays? (ATS Users n=843, single response / excluding automatic thank-you emails after application)

Regarding the initial interview invitation (candidate date proposal) immediately after application, including nights and holidays, 34.5% responded "fully automated." "Partially automated" was the most frequent response at 58.1%, and "not automated / don't know" was 7.4%.

Full automation is limited to about 30%, leaving the initial response time lag as a remaining challenge.

Survey Results 4 | Satisfaction by ATS Function: Highest is "Media Integration" at 53.3%, Challenge is "Follow-up" at 43.6%

While the reality of automation has become clear, what is the evaluation of each function?

When asked about "satisfaction with each item of the ATS currently in use," the following results were obtained.

[Figure 5] Satisfaction by ATS Function (ATS Users n=843)

Question: Regarding the ATS currently in use, satisfaction by item (ATS Users n=843 / graph shows percentage of "satisfied")

"Media integration range and accuracy" had the highest percentage of "satisfied" at 53.3%. This was followed by "balance with cost" at 49.4% and "automation after application (initial response speed)" at 48.4%.

On the other hand, the lowest was "automatic follow-up for non-responders/non-bookers (reminders/follow-up)" at 43.6%. This indicates room for improvement in proactive follow-up functions that move applicants towards interviews.

Survey Results 5 | Ranking of Full Automation Rate by ATS Used: 1st Place is RPM at 46.4%

[Figure 6] Full Automation Rate by ATS Used (Comparison among top services and ATS with 30+ users (10 services))

Calculation Method: Cross-tabulation of "Q: What is the ATS you currently use the most?" x "Q: To what extent is the process from application reception to interview scheduling confirmation automated?" The percentage of respondents who answered "almost entirely automated" was calculated using the number of users for each service (comparison among 10 services where 30 or more people answered they use that ATS in this survey).

When the percentage of companies that achieved "almost complete automation" from application to interview scheduling was calculated by ATS, the highest was "RPM" at 46.4%.

The second place was 31.4%, and the third was 27.8%. RPM is approximately 1.8 times the average for ATS users (26.1%), indicating that the rate of full automation varies significantly depending on the ATS, even for the same tasks. It was found that system selection greatly influences the amount of manual work in the field.

Conclusion | From the "Implementation Phase" to the "Phase of How Much Can Be Automated"

This survey found that while ATS are adopted by over 80% of companies and have become established as infrastructure, overall satisfaction has leveled off at an average of 6.5, with only about 20% of companies achieving "almost complete automation."

While "defensive functions" such as information aggregation and management can be met by any system, challenges remain in "offensive automation" such as initial response and follow-up.

In future recruitment, the criteria for evaluating systems are shifting from "whether to implement an ATS" to "how much manual work can be automated and how well can it be utilized."

To allow personnel to focus on core tasks such as candidate assessment, process automation and optimal utilization are considered key to future recruitment success.

▼ Full Survey Report (Free, No Registration Required)

ATS Adoption Rate 83.6% / Average Overall Satisfaction 6.5 / Full Automation Reached 22.8%. From the "Recruitment Management System (ATS) Usage Status Survey 2026" by 1,008 Recruitment Managers.

Read the Full Report (Free, No Registration Required)

This report contains all data from the ATS usage status survey of 1,008 recruitment managers. It covers adoption rates, full automation rates, satisfaction by function, and comparisons of major services.

▼ Full Report (Free, No Registration Required)

https://rpm.zeku.co.jp/research/2026-ats-usage

▼ White Paper (PDF, Free Download)

https://rpm.zeku.co.jp/request/2026-ats-usage

"RPM" by Zeku Inc. - Consolidates and Automates Recruitment Operations

RPM is a recruitment management system that integrates with over 400 job boards, the largest in Japan. It automatically imports application information from job boards and agents, and includes standard features for initial response and follow-up via email/SMS/LINE, as well as self-booking of interviews. It achieved the highest full automation rate of 46.4% in this survey.

As a result of implementing RPM, companies have seen improvements such as a 2.2-fold increase in interview scheduling rates and a 3-fold increase in hiring rates compared to before implementation (please see the case studies below).

▼ Case Studies of RPM Implementation

1) Case Study: "2.2x Interview Scheduling Rate, 3x Hiring Rate"

2) Case Study: "3x Hired, 1/3 Recruitment Cost, 100 Hours of Interview Work Saved"

[Measures to Improve Recruitment Yield Explained in Video] System for Automating Application to Interview Scheduling

▼ What is a Recruitment Management System (ATS)? System for Automating Application to Interview Scheduling | RPM

[What you will learn from this video]

Reality of recruitment sites struggling with applicant response

System for automatically handling applications to interview scheduling

Image of utilizing a recruitment management system (ATS)

[Regarding Citation of Survey Results]

When citing the results of this survey, please clearly state "Survey conducted by Zeku Inc." and include a link to this survey page (https://rpm.zeku.co.jp/research/2026-ats-usage).

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: Survey
  • Organizations: PRIZMA / RPM