Chipotle’s AI hiring platform is restoring some of the public’s faith in AI by showing how it can support work rather than replace it.
We have only begun to touch the surface of the possibilities that artificial intelligence presents us with, and there’s much to be learned from businesses that are paving their own way with it. Employing AI in hiring processes is becoming increasingly common, and Chipotle is a prime example of a company that appears to have figured it out. Chipotle’s AI hiring platform has reportedly cut its hiring time by 75% already, greatly aiding in the company’s ambitions to expand significantly this year.
Creatively named Ava Cado, the AI platform by Paradox was introduced on October 22, 2024, to help the company’s admin team spend less time on building candidate profiles and organizing interviews, and more time on job-critical tasks. In the almost eight months since its integration, the company has already seen promising results.
Scott Boatwright, CEO of Chipotle, said as much during the Fortune COO Summit held recently. Chipotle’s AI hiring HR platform and its success in reaching the right candidates is an optimistic turn of events after the recent spell of less-than-pleasant applications of AI in hiring.
Chipotle’s AI hiring system appears to be working exceptionally, helping it expand its workforce faster than ever. (Image: Pexels)
Chipotle’s AI Hiring Success Shows Us That AI Can Be A Useful Tool In the Workplace
During the Fortune Summit, Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright spoke about the AI tool briefly saying, “Ava has reduced the time to hire by about 75%, which allows us to get quicker access to better talent.” He indicated that not only was the company hiring at an unprecedented rate, but they were also accessing some of the best candidates through the use of AI. “This not only helps us keep our restaurant staffed but ensures we have the best talent that’s available in the industry,” Boatwright explained.
Hiring is a labor- and resource-intensive task that requires considerable investment, and there are a lot of bureaucratic procedures that make it inefficient. AI tools are useful in streamlining the process better for the hiring teams and recruiters who are tasked with a steady expansion of the workforce, and it’s no surprise that Chipotle is able to reduce its hiring time through its use.
Chipotle’s Ambitious Expansion Plans Are Underway
If you’re wondering why Chipotle’s AI hiring platform is so relevant to its business right now, it’s because the company is on the fast track toward expansion. The multinational fast food chain aims to double its numbers to around 200,000 employees this year, with a schedule that could see it “open a new Chipotle restaurant this year almost every 24 hours.” Over 300 new locations are expected to pop up in 2025, which is no small feat for any business.
It’s obvious that the hiring team at Chipotle will be swamped with work sorting through applications and meeting the needs of each of these operations. An AI hiring tool that can interact with candidates, answer their questions, collect basic details, schedule interviews, and send offers to applicants will undoubtedly be beneficial. Chipotle’s AI Ava Cado platform performs all of these tasks with ease, and it is multilingual to boot.
Recent reports indicate that many candidates have had sub-optimal experiences with AI tools used in hiring, so businesses that want to emulate Chipotle’s AI hiring strategy need to ensure that the tools they employ are up to the task.
Chipotle’s AI Ava Cado Platform Is Only One Example of Its AI Integration
Restaurant chain Chipotle may not have much to do with the AI and tech industry directly, but the company has been extremely ambitious in its exploration of technological tools. Chipotle’s AI HR platform is only one instance of the company’s utilization of AI. It has also shown how it can use AI in its loyalty programs to offer customized deals to its visitors, giving them more reasons to return to the store.
In 2023, Chipotle announced a new avocado processing cobotic (collaborative tool) prototype called the Autocado, which was designed to help kitchen staff with preparing avocados for the day’s orders, reducing guacamole prep time by 50%.
The Autocado robot was designed by Vebu, who worked with Chipotle managers to identify time-consuming tasks that could be handled by machines. Vebu is working to integrate a machine learning stack into its robotics to further improve its efficiency and already announced improvements in 2024.
AI Technology Can Revolutionize a Business
Chipotle has cut its hiring time by 75%, but not its hiring capacity. The company is still relying on its human workforce to keep the business running, and this is likely why the news of AI use has not been met with immediate backlash. Chipotle’s exploration of AI has been markedly different from other organizations that are attempting to replace workers with AI instead. Here, Chipotle is working to “remove waste and expand or enhance the team member experience,” making it a collaborative tool that benefits the company, customers, and employees as well.
Companies that are using AI tools as a replacement for their workforce are contributing to the anti-AI stance among both employees and consumers. This furthers their reluctance to support, operate, or use the provided services and encourages an atmosphere of resistance. Yes, AI tools have unparalleled potential to enhance the performance of a business, but the integration of these tools needs to be planned out carefully and introduced into spaces where they can be useful.
We haven’t heard from the candidates who have interacted with Chipotle’s AI Ava Cado Platform so we still don’t have the full picture of how it performs, but the success rates show us that it is possible for AI to be used effectively within the workplace.
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