The guide
Do cover letters still matter?
Many postings make them optional, and not every recruiter reads them. But when a letter is requested, or when a role draws a large pool of applicants, it helps separate similar profiles. Hiring managers also tend to revisit it when preparing for the interview. A bland letter rarely sinks an application on its own, but a specific one can be the reason someone picks up the phone.
Some mistakes, on the other hand, are costly: another company's name left in after a copy-paste, a misspelled hiring manager name, "To whom it may concern" when the contact is named in the posting. Take two minutes to find the right person, read the letter out loud, and send a PDF with a clear file name such as "Cover-Letter-Name-Role.pdf".
What makes a strong cover letter, AI or not
The rule fits in one sentence: every paragraph should answer the job posting. Pick out the two or three main needs of the role, then show a moment when you already met each one, with a result if you have it. "I cut our month-end close from ten days to five" says far more than "I am detail-oriented".
Don't walk through your resume line by line; the reader already has it. Drop filler like "fast-paced environment" and "passionate team player", and skip vague praise for the company. A specific reference to a project, product or challenge mentioned in the posting works much better.
AI cover letters have a bad reputation for a simple reason: many are written from nothing, with interchangeable sentences and sometimes invented experience. MIA CV starts only from your resume and the posting, and never adds a skill you don't have. Always read the result and add at least one detail only you could write, such as what genuinely draws you to the role.
Conventions by country
In the US, cover letters are short, direct and often sent as the body of an email or pasted into an application form. UK letters follow a similar style, with "Yours sincerely" when you know the recipient's name. In France, many letters still follow a formal three-part structure with an elaborate closing formula, and in Germany the Anschreiben is expected for many applications and follows fairly strict conventions. Writing the letter in the language of the job lets you respect those norms without memorizing them.