# Background screening: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "background check provider" and as "employment screening service", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/talent/background-screening

**Standing:** Checkr leads with 53% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 53 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Checkr](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/checkr/index.md) | 53% | 13% | 63 |
| 2 | [Certn](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/certn/index.md) | 13% | 0% | 37 |
| 3 | [GoodHire](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/goodhire/index.md) | 6% | 4% | 48 |
| 4 | [Accurate Background](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/accurate-background/index.md) | 6% | 7% | 27 |
| 5 | [AccuSourceHR](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/accusourcehr/index.md) | 4% | 0% | 11 |
| 7 | [BackgroundChecks.com](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/backgroundchecks-com/index.md) | 2% | 25% | 20 |
| 14 | [Spokeo](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/spokeo/index.md) | 2% | 58% | 12 |
| 15 | [Mitratech AssureHire](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/mitratech-assurehire/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 11 |
| 16 | [Verified First](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/verified-first/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 12 |
| 17 | [First Advantage](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/first-advantage/index.md) | 0% | 26% | 31 |
| 20 | [HireRight](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/hireright/index.md) | 0% | 37% | 35 |
| 77 | [Sterling](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/sterling/index.md) | 0% | 45% | 29 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 86 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: AccuSourceHR; alternatives Accurate Background, Bchex, Mitratech AssureHire
- GPT-5.4 mini: Checkr; alternatives Certn, GoodHire, VICTIG
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Checkr; alternatives Accurate Background, Certn, Verified First
- Perplexity Sonar: Checkr; alternatives AccuSourceHR, Certn, Mitratech AssureHire, Verified First
- Grok 4.20: Checkr; alternatives Certn, GoodHire
- Mistral Small: Certn, Checkr; alternatives ADP RUN, Mitratech AssureHire, Verified First
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Certn, Checkr; alternatives Accurate Background, GoodHire, Turn
- Llama 4 Maverick: Checkr; alternatives AccuSourceHR, Bchex, Certn, ClearStar
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Checkster; alternatives BrightCheck, Certified Background, GoodHire
- Kimi K2: Certn, Checkr; alternatives First Advantage, GoodHire, Verified First
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Checkr; alternatives Certn, GoodHire
- MiniMax M2.5: Checkr; alternatives Accurate Background, Certn, GoodHire
- GPT-6 Luna: Accurate Background; alternatives Checkr
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Checkr; alternatives AccuSourceHR, Accurate Background, BackgroundChecks.com, Certn

## Sources the answers cite

77 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- leadchangegroup.com: 27 answers, 52 citations
- checkr.com: 27 answers, 36 citations
- mitratech.com: 24 answers, 25 citations
- accusourcehr.com: 22 answers, 25 citations
- firsthr.app: 20 answers, 21 citations
- goodhire.com: 17 answers, 19 citations
- bib.com: 17 answers, 18 citations
- fitsmallbusiness.com: 16 answers, 19 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://mitratech.com/resource-hub/blog/top-2026-background-check-vendors (21 answers)
- https://firsthr.app/compare/general/employee-background-check-services (19 answers)
- https://leadchangegroup.com/background-check-services/mid-market (17 answers)
- https://fitsmallbusiness.com/best-background-check-companies (16 answers)
- https://accusourcehr.com/blog/best-background-check-companies (14 answers)
- https://leadchangegroup.com/background-check-services/compare (14 answers)
- https://checkr.com/resources/articles/best-background-checks (12 answers)
- https://parse.gl/markets/employment-background-check-services (10 answers)
- https://selectsoftwarereviews.com/buyer-guide/employment-background-check (9 answers)
- https://topconsumerreviews.com/best-background-checks/detailed-reviews.php (9 answers)

## Warned against

- HireRight: 13 of 35 labels negative. "Customers often report being asked to handle the entire background check process themselves; inefficiency with document requests" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- TruthFinder: 14 of 17 labels negative. "the FTC said TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate deceived users about criminal-record accuracy and violated FCRA requirements" (GPT-5.4 mini, negative prompt)
- Sterling: 13 of 29 labels negative. "Common complaints: Extremely slow turnaround times, frequent delays, and missed start dates; poor communication and slow support" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Instant Checkmate: 9 of 13 labels negative. "the FTC said TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate deceived users about criminal-record accuracy and violated FCRA requirements" (GPT-5.4 mini, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 13 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Checkr at 53%.

- Checkr: 31% to 53%, +22. Cleared the floor by 9 points · rank 1 of 86, unchanged.
- GoodHire: 16% to 6%, −10. Inside the floor by 3 points · rank 2 → 3 of 86.
- BackgroundChecks.com: 11% to 2%, −9. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 3 → 7 of 86.
- Verified First: 7% to 0%, −7. Inside the floor by 6 points · rank 5 → 16 of 86.
- Certn: 7% to 13%, +6. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 4 → 2 of 86.
- Mitratech AssureHire: 5% to 0%, −5. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 6 → 15 of 86.
- AccuSourceHR: 0% to 4%, +4. New · not ranked in October 2026 · rank 5 of 86.
- Accurate Background: 4% to 6%, +2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 8 → 4 of 86.
- Spokeo: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 79 → 14 of 86.
- HireRight: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 10 → 20 of 86.
- Sterling: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 11 → 77 of 86.
- First Advantage: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 15 → 17 of 86.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/hr.