Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Career Development: The Effect of AI Use Intention on Graduate Employability Through Career Adaptability and Job Search Self-Efficacy

Background: Fresh graduates face an increasingly difficult school-to-work transition, while artificial intelligence (AI) has become a routine study and job-search companion; yet how the intention to use AI translates into employability, and through which mechanisms, remains unclear. Objective: Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, this study tests whether behavioral intention to use AI is associated with self-perceived graduate employability directly and indirectly through career adaptability and job search self-efficacy, and whether AI self-efficacy and AI trust moderate these paths. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of 612 Indonesian fresh graduates who use AI for career preparation was analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results: AI use intention positively predicted career adaptability (β = 0.305) and job search self-efficacy (β = 0.249), and both resources predicted self-perceived employability. The indirect paths through both resources were significant, and a direct effect of AI use intention on employability remained, indicating partial mediation. AI self-efficacy and AI trust showed significant main effects on their resources, while the interaction-related indirect effects were not significant. Conclusion: AI use intention is associated with self-perceived employability through career adaptability and job search self-efficacy. The cross-sectional findings do not establish causality. Educational institutions and career-service units may use these findings to inform structured AI-supported occupational exploration, skills-gap analysis, résumé refinement, and interview rehearsal, while encouraging critical verification of AI outputs.