Chipotle announced Tuesday that it will use a new AI hiring platform to support accelerating growth nationwide.
The fast casual is partnering with Paradox to introduce a system underpinned by conversational AI (technologies that enable computers to understand, process, and naturally respond to human language). The platform is headed by AI assistant “Ava Cado,” which will chat with candidates, answer questions about Chipotle, collect basic information, schedule interviews for hiring managers, and send offers to candidates selected by managers. The virtual team member can speak English, Spanish, French, and German.
The technology is projected to reduce the time needed to hire an employee by 75 percent. With AI’s help, general managers will spend less time on administrative tasks and focus more on day-to-day operations and hospitality.
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Paradox is currently being introduced in a phased approach across Chipotle’s more than 3,500 restaurant locations in North America and Europe, with plans for completion this month. 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.
“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,” chief human resources officer Ilene Eskenazi said in a statement. “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.”
The Paradox platform is supporting Chipotle’s fall hiring efforts, its second-largest hiring period of the year.
“Nothing gets me more excited than rolling up our sleeves to help amazing clients like Chipotle transform their business with a hiring process that’s simpler and better for everyone,” added Paradox CEO Adam Godson. “So much of the magic of Chipotle is the people who serve their food. We’re honored to partner with the Chipotle team to automate the boring, administrative stuff, so they can get great people into great jobs, faster.”
This isn’t the brand’s first foray into automation. In the back of house, the fast casual has worked on an automated digital makeline and the avocado-prepping “Autocado.” Both are officially being tested in live restaurants. The technologies were invested in by Chipotle through its $100 million Cultivate Next venture fund, which arrived in 2022.
Chipotle in Q2 posted same-store sales gains of 11.1 percent, well ahead of Wall Street’s consensus prediction of 9.2 percent. Also, 8.7 percent stemmed from transaction growth—the brand’s strongest traffic result in three years. The brand’s Q2 traffic was a sequential acceleration on both a one- and two-year basis.
The chain is currently led by interim CEO Scott Boatwright. He took over for Brian Niccol, who left for the chief executive position at Starbucks.
