Hey,
Most jobs get 100+ applicants now. Cover letters are supposed to make you stand out, but everyone's using AI tools, and they're all spitting out cover letters that sound exactly the same.
These tools promise to save time, but most just make you do the heavy lifting for an underwhelming result.
We tested the top AI cover letter generators to find out which ones actually save time and deliver, and which ones churn out bland, generic output with extra steps.
Here's what we found.
The real difference between tools
AI cover letter tools fall into two categories:
Basic AI Writing: You do the legwork
- You manually research companies and roles
- You copy-paste job descriptions and in some cases write prompts
- AI generates a draft, often generic
- You edit heavily to make it usable
Advanced Automation: AI does the research
- You paste a job URL
- AI researches the company and role automatically
- Generates personalized cover letters and other materials
- You review and tweak as needed
Most tools are Basic AI writing. They help a little, but you're still doing the time-consuming research part yourself.
What we tested
1️⃣ ChatGPT
Good for: People who like full control and don't mind manual work
ChatGPT is free (or $20/month for Plus). It's a general chatbot, not purpose-built for job applications.
How it actually works:
- You research the company yourself (20-30 minutes)
- You copy-paste the job description
- You write a detailed prompt (most people aren't good at this)
- Output is hit-or-miss - usually need 3-5 tries
- ChatGPT often makes up company details it doesn't know
- You upload your resume every single time
Pricing: Free (limited) or $20/month for Plus
Bottom line: You're still doing 90% of the work. ChatGPT just helps you write cleaner sentences.
2️⃣ Teal
Good for: People who want an all-in-one job search hub
Teal is a full platform - resume builder, job tracker, kanban boards, and AI cover letters all in one place.
How it actually works:
- Upload your resume or import from LinkedIn
- Save jobs using their Chrome extension or paste manually
- Pick a cover letter template
- AI generates from what you gave it
- You edit the output
- No automatic company research - you provide everything
Pricing: 2 free AI generations, then $9/week, $29/month, or $79/quarter
Bottom line: Excellent for staying organized during your job search. You'll need to install the extension and manually feed it job info for each application.
3️⃣ Grammarly
Good for: Polishing cover letters you already wrote
Grammarly recently added AI writing features for cover letters.
How it actually works:
- Helps you write through prompts
- No job-specific research
- Great for grammar, tone, clarity
- Not really a cover letter generator
Pricing: Free tier available, Premium starts at $12/month
Bottom line: Write your cover letter first, then use Grammarly to polish it. Don't expect it to generate personalized letters from scratch.
4️⃣ Huntr
Good for: Visual job tracking plus AI writing
Huntr combines job boards with resume and cover letter tools.
How it actually works:
- Save jobs to your board
- Upload your resume
- Paste job descriptions manually
- AI generates cover letters
- No automated research
- Good visual tracking system
Pricing: Free tier (limited), $40/month for unlimited AI
Bottom line: Similar to Teal - great for tracking your pipeline. You're doing all the research and customization yourself.
5️⃣ Kickresume
Good for: GPT-4 templates
Kickresume uses GPT-4 for cover letters and resumes.
How it actually works:
- Upload your resume
- Paste job description
- AI generates from what you provided
- You review and edit
- Popular - 2M monthly users
Pricing: $19/month or $7/month annually
Bottom line: Good templates and GPT-4 quality. Still requires you to manually research and provide all job information.
6️⃣ LockedIn
Good for: Automatic research, simple workflow
LockedIn uses browser automation to research jobs and companies for you.
How it actually works:
- Paste a job URL from any job board
- Browser automation researches the company and role (like a human would)
- Generates personalized cover letter + resume tips + outreach messages
- You review and customize
- No extensions, no templates, no prompt writing
Bottom line: Upload your resume once, then just paste job URLs. The research happens automatically - you focus on reviewing and editing.
Skip the auto-apply spam tools
Some tools will send hundreds of applications on your behalf without you reviewing them.
Don't use these.
Hiring managers spot mass-applied resumes instantly. They're generic, show zero company research, and can actually hurt your reputation. Some companies even flag profiles that use auto-apply tools.
So which one should you use?
You want full control and don't mind extra work: ChatGPT
You want detailed job search organization: Teal or Huntr (but you're still doing research manually)
You want research done for you and an intuitive workflow: LockedIn
You just need grammar help: Grammarly
You want GPT-4 with templates and are okay feeding it job info manually: Kickresume
What actually matters
Generic cover letters get ignored. Doesn't matter which AI tool wrote them.
Harvard Business Review found that hiring managers want to see:
- Proof you researched the company
- Clear connections between your experience and their needs
- Specific examples, not vague statements
The best tool is the one that helps you do real research without making your job search more stressful.
The reality
The job market is tough right now. You're competing against 100+ people for decent roles.
AI tools can help, but only if they actually save you time on the hard part - the research.
For job seekers: If you're tired of manually researching every company, try LockedIn free. It automates the research so you can focus on customizing and applying.
For students: New to job searching and not sure where to start? LockedIn makes it simple - just paste job URLs and review what it generates. Get started free.
For power users: Applying to lots of jobs? LockedIn's automation saves you hours of research per week. Try it free.