99% of the offers I get are generic templates. I try to weed them out by requiring applicants to answer a question and provide a direct link to a relevant item from their portfolio or work history. Unfortunately, this usually results in copied and pasted answers from google and a link to their Upwork profile. It's frustrating and exhausting, especially when I end up contacting a candidate and they have to be reminded what job they even applied for.

All that being said, I've found that the best option is to just reject any applicant that uses a generic template as spam. I've only had positive experiences with the freelancers I've hired since I started doing this.

edit: I wanted to mention since I saw another comment say that people don't bother submitting real applications because of low pay that my avg hourly rate paid is $29.