What ATS screening software actually checks in 2026 Most "ATS-friendly CV" advice on the internet is from 2017. The software has moved on. If you have been told to "just use bullet points" or "avoid tables" and that is the whole strategy, you are operating on a ten-year-old playbook. The applicant tracking systems shipping in 2026 do a lot more than keyword matching. Here is what they actually check, based on the documentation of the top five ATS platforms currently on the market. What ATS software checks in 2026 Parse success — can it extract your name, email, employers, and dates cleanly? Keyword match — do you reference the skills and tools in the job description? Experience calculation — how many years of each skill can it infer from your CV? Location and work authorisation — does your stated location match the role, do you have the right to work? Duplicate detection — have you applied before, using a different email?…