Chipotle Introduces AI Recruiter 'Ava Cado' to Streamline Hiring Process

Chipotle turns to AI hiring platform to screen job applicants

Chipotle Mexican Grill job applicants better get used to conversing with AI -- their first interview could be with an artificial intellgence-powered system named "Ava Cado" rather than a human hiring manager. The fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain said Tuesday that it is partnering with Paradox, a maker of what the technology company calls "conversational" AI, to launch the new hiring platform. By collecting basic information about candidates, Ava will free up restaurant managers to focus on other tasks, according to the company. The AI can also schedule interviews and even make job offers in real time, the company said. Ava is also a polyglot and able to conduct interviews in English, Spanish, French and German. The new technology is expected to reduce the amount of time it takes Chipotle to hire an employee for an in-restaurant position by as much 75%, Chipotle said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. Chipotle plans to deploy the system across more than 3,500 restaurant locations in North America and Europe. The technology is currently being introduced at restaurants in a phased approach that's expected to be complete by the end of October. In addition to collecting biographical information, Ava can engage with job applicants and answer their questions about the company, according to Chipotle. "Paradox operates as if we've hired additional administrative support for all our restaurants, freeing up more time for managers to support team members and provide an exceptional guest experience. We're excited about the early improvements we're seeing," Chipotle chief human resources officer Ilene Eskenazi said in a statement. A number of other major restaurant chains, retailers and other companies have turned to Paradox's AI hiring tech, including Applebee's, McDonald's, Panera Bread, Taco Bell and Wendy's. Although AI can expedite the hiring process, it can also be controversial as a recruiting tool. Some studies have found that it can lead to biased assessment of candidates and unintentionally discriminate against people based on their race or gender. To guard against the misuse of AI in hiring, New York City in 2021 passed a law that requires companies that use the technology to disclose its use to job candidates. Employers are also required to conduct annual third-party "bias audits" of their automated hiring systems to ensure the technology isn't discriminating against certain types of candidates.

Chipotle turns to AI hiring platform to screen job applicants

Chipotle Mexican Grill job applicants better get used to conversing with AI -- their first interview could be with an artificial intellgence-powered system named "Ava Cado" rather than a human hiring manager. The fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain said Tuesday that it is partnering with Paradox, a maker of what the technology company calls "conversational" AI, to launch the new hiring platform. By collecting basic information about candidates, Ava will free up restaurant managers to focus on other tasks, according to the company. The AI can also schedule interviews and even make job offers in real time, the company said. Ava is also a polyglot and able to conduct interviews in English, Spanish, French and German. The new technology is expected to reduce the amount of time it takes Chipotle to hire an employee for an in-restaurant position by as much 75%, Chipotle said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. Chipotle plans to deploy the system across more than 3,500 restaurant locations in North America and Europe. The technology is currently being introduced at restaurants in a phased approach that's expected to be complete by the end of October. In addition to collecting biographical information, Ava can engage with job applicants and answer their questions about the company, according to Chipotle. "Paradox operates as if we've hired additional administrative support for all our restaurants, freeing up more time for managers to support team members and provide an exceptional guest experience. We're excited about the early improvements we're seeing," Chipotle chief human resources officer Ilene Eskenazi said in a statement. A number of other major restaurant chains, retailers and other companies have turned to Paradox's AI hiring tech, including Applebee's, McDonald's, Panera Bread, Taco Bell and Wendy's. Although AI can expedite the hiring process, it can also be controversial as a recruiting tool. Some studies have found that it can lead to biased assessment of candidates and unintentionally discriminate against people based on their race or gender. To guard against the misuse of AI in hiring, New York City in 2021 passed a law that requires companies that use the technology to disclose its use to job candidates. Employers are also required to conduct annual third-party "bias audits" of their automated hiring systems to ensure the technology isn't discriminating against certain types of candidates.

Chipotle Introduces a New AI Recruiter Named 'Ava Cado' to Dramatically Reduce Hiring Time

The company announced the new AI on Tuesday and said that it would be completed by the end of the month. Chipotle has a new addition to its staff: Ava Cado, an AI recruiter that slices the time it takes to hire a new restaurant employee by 75%. Chipotle announced the AI system on Tuesday, stating that Ava will talk to prospective hires, get the necessary information, schedule interviews, and even send out offer letters. Managers at 3,500 Chipotle restaurants across the world will use the AI technology, which will be rolled out in phases by the end of the month. Chipotle Chief Human Resources Officer Ilene Eskenazi said in a press release that the big-picture goal is to have 7,000 restaurants in North America using the tech. Related: Wells Fargo Analysts Tested 75 Bowls at Chipotle -- and the Portion Sizes Were Wildly Inconsistent The AI "operates as if we've hired additional administrative support for all our restaurants," Eskenazi said. Chipotle is tapping into AI technology already in use at some of the biggest restaurants in the world, including McDonald's and Wendy's. Giants in other industries, such as Pfizer, FedEx, and Disney, are also using the same AI recruiting platform. Pfizer, for example, said it brought down the time it takes to schedule an interview with a candidate from seven days to less than five minutes. AI recruiting carries its own set of challenges, though, such as the possibility of automating bias. If the AI system was trained on a biased data set, it could inadvertently amplify that bias. AI also runs the risk of alienating candidates who could be penalized if they use AI themselves to prepare materials. Human candidates may respond better to human recruiters who give clear social prompts, say on an initial recruiting call. Related: AI Is Changing How Businesses Recruit for Open Roles -- and How Candidates Are Gaming the System For Chipotle, Ava Cado has the clear benefit of letting managers spend more time supporting human team members and less on hiring. "We're excited about the early improvements we're seeing," Eskenazi stated.

Chipotle's new AI recruiter aims to cut hiring time by 75%

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is rolling out an artificial intelligence assistant that the chain hopes will cut the time it takes to hire workers by as much as 75%. The virtual recruiter, known as Ava Cado, will be available at the chain's more than 3,500 restaurants in North America and Europe by the end of the month, the company announced Tuesday. The fall is Chipotle's second busiest recruiting period of the year, following the March-to-May sales sprint it calls "burrito season." The company said Ava will collect applicants' information, answer their questions about the company, book meetings and send offers to candidates selected by humans. The goal is to take those administrative tasks off managers' to-do lists so they can focus on running the restaurants. The system "operates as if we've hired additional administrative support for all our restaurants," Chipotle Chief Human Resources Officer Ilene Eskenazi said, according to the statement. Powered by conversational AI from tech firm Paradox, the AI assistant can speak in English, Spanish, French and German. It's Chipotle's latest move into automation, following tests of robots that expedite avocado mashing and burrito bowl assembly.

Chipotle's New AI Recruiter Aims to Cut Hiring Time by 75%

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is rolling out an artificial intelligence assistant that the chain hopes will cut the time it takes to hire workers by as much as 75%. The virtual recruiter, known as Ava Cado, will be available at the chain's more than 3,500 restaurants in North America and Europe by the end of the month, the company announced Tuesday. The fall is Chipotle's second busiest recruiting period of the year, following the March-to-May sales sprint it calls "burrito season."

Chipotle Rolls Out AI-Powered Hiring Platform With Paradox to Cut Recruitment Time

Ava Cado speaks four languages: English, Spanish, French, and German, enhancing the candidate experience. Chipotle Mexican Grill has announced a partnership with Paradox to introduce a new AI-driven hiring platform aimed at improving the efficiency of its recruitment process. The platform features "Ava Cado," a virtual assistant designed to simplify tasks such as gathering candidate information, scheduling interviews, and answering applicant queries. Also Read: Chipotle Invests in AI Supply Chain Platform Lumachain "Paradox's conversational hiring system will enable the General Managers in Chipotle's restaurants to spend less time on administrative tasks, including collecting basic information from candidates and scheduling interviews, and allow them to focus on their day-to-day operations and providing excellent hospitality for guests," Chipotle said. The system, currently being rolled out in a phased approach across 3,500 Chipotle locations, is expected to reduce the time to hire restaurant staff by up to 75 percent. Ava, which can communicate in English, Spanish, French, and German, aims to enhance the candidate experience while easing the administrative burden on managers. The recruiting system aims to decrease the time to hire, reduce job advertising costs, increase hiring for hard-to-fill roles, and improve candidate experience, the company said. "As we continue to move toward our long-term goal of operating 7,000 restaurants in North America, we are empowering our teams to recruit and hire talent that are excited by our vision to Cultivate a Better World and want to grow with us," said Ilene Eskenazi, Chief Human Resources Officer. Also Read: Telefonica's Wayra Invests in AI Startup Perplexity, Signs Commercial Agreement "Paradox operates as if we've hired additional administrative support for all our restaurants, freeing up more time for managers to support team members and provide an exceptional guest experience. We're excited about the early improvements we're seeing," Ilene added. The company said this move aligns with its broader expansion strategy, with plans to grow to 7,000 locations in North America.

Chipotle just released an AI recruiting tool to get an edge in the 'competitive labor market'

Ava Cado is coming to Chipotle, and no, I'm not talking about guacamole. On Tuesday, the fast-casual restaurant chain announced a new recruiting tool (named "Ava Cado") to help beef up hiring. The new "virtual team member," built by recruitment software company Paradox, will chat with candidates in various languages, answer their questions, collect basic information, schedule interviews, and even send offer letters, according to the company. Chipotle anticipates the tech to reduce hiring time by 75%. "We expect that increasing our speed to hire will be an advantage in a competitive labor market," Ilene Eskenazi, Chief Human Resources Officer for Chipotle, told Fortune. The company's in-restaurant and field leadership roles account for 98% of total hiring. Using AI for recruiting at a large restaurant chain makes a lot of sense for an organization that hires on a large scale every year. The restaurant chain announced in 2024 that it would be hiring 19,000 employees for "burrito season," a particularly busy time for the company that lasts from March until May. Chipotle isn't the first fast-food chain to incorporate an AI into the hiring process: McDonald's launched McHire, its own custom virtual hiring assistant, in collaboration with Paradox in 2019. Two years into using it, the restaurant has cut back hiring time for hourly workers by 60%, according to Paradox. Chipotle's announcement comes at a time when HR leaders around the world are trying to figure out the best way to incorporate AI into their workflow. Recruiting has been a major focus of many CHRO's AI efforts for some time because it can be used to create job postings, write emails, and filter through applications. "AI enabled recruiting is particularly well suited for distributed blue collar recruiting. Restaurants, retail, warehouses, distribution businesses are all ripe for AI enablement," says Dan Kaplan, a senior client partner at Korn Ferry's CHRO practice. "We have come a long way and yet we aren't even in the first inning." But it's crucial that CHROs make sure that if they do use AI for recruiting, there's still a human involved in the process. Sending an offer letter too quickly, with little to no human interaction, may lead candidates to believe the offer is a scam, or that the company isn't serious, says Mahe Bayireddi, CEO and co-founder of Phenom, an HR technology company that develops AI-based software for recruiting. One of his clients went overboard and cut their total recruiting time from application to offer letter to just 45 minutes. "While a lot of people got offers, only 50% of them actually showed up to work," says Bayireddi. He adds that at least 10% of the hiring process should involve human interaction. And it's important to note that number increases when it comes to hiring knowledge workers -- a more personalized hiring process is more critical for those roles. Only a quarter of UK workers say they want alcohol at social events, signaling that employees are moving away from after-work drinking culture and alcohol consumption altogether. Financial Times St. Louis passed a bill that would throw out an old ordinance that barbers cannot work past 6:30 p.m. on Sundays and holidays -- a rule that originally targeted Black barbers. Washington Post The new CEO of industrial giant 3M Co. enforced that employees at the director level and above must be in office three days per week -- after three years of operating on flexible schedules. Bloomberg Everything you need to know from Fortune. Brain drain. More than 2,400 of Kaiser Permanente's unionized mental health workers in California went on strike Monday over unmanageable workloads and staff shortages. -- Damian Dovarganes, AP Blind optimism. Although Gen Z is taking an interest in trade careers, an analysis of traditional positions like welding, plumbing, and carpentry in the UK reveal they're some of the unhappiest jobs. -- Orianna Rosa Royle