Chipotle Mexican Grill Introduces A New AI Hiring Platform

(RTTNews) - Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) announced Tuesday that it is partnering with Paradox to introduce a new AI-driven platform that will make hiring employees more efficient for its restaurant teams.

According to Chipotle, 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.

The company said the AI-hiring model is currently being introduced in a phased approach across more than 3,500 restaurant locations, 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.

Paradox's experience is driven by a virtual team member that Chipotle named "Ava Cado." Ava will provide a frictionless hiring experience by chatting with candidates, answering their questions about Chipotle, collecting basic information, scheduling interviews for hiring managers, and sending offers to candidates who are selected by managers. Ava is multilingual and can converse with candidates in English, Spanish, French, and German.

"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. "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."