Talent News Round-Up: Chipotle’s Ava Cado, Deceptive AI Use, and LinkedIn’s New Assistant
Staying updated on the latest workforce trends is crucial for TA leaders and HR professionals. This week, we delve into three significant developments shaping the talent landscape and get SocialTalent CEO, Johnny Campbell’s first-hand takes on these pieces.
- Chipotle’s new AI recruiter “Ava Cado” is shaking up hiring by cutting down time-to-hire by 75%—are we looking at the future of hourly recruitment?
- According to HR News, half of U.K. job seekers are using AI to “boost” their applications—how will recruiters keep it real as tech takes over?
- LinkedIn’s AI assistant promises to save recruiters 20 hours a week—could this tool be the game-changer everyone’s been waiting for?
Join us as we explore these pivotal insights and their implications for the future of work.
1. Chipotle Introduces a New AI Recruiter Named ‘Ava Cado’ to Dramatically Reduce Hiring Time
Source: Entrepreneur
Chipotle has introduced “Ava Cado,” an AI-powered recruiter designed to reduce hiring times by 75% across 3,500 restaurant locations. Launched to streamline hiring, Ava will handle applicant conversations, interview scheduling, and offer letters, allowing managers to focus more on team support. Leveraging AI technology similar to that used by McDonald’s and Pfizer, Chipotle aims to expand this initiative to 7,000 locations in North America, with rollout completion expected by the month’s end.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“Automation is the future for Hourly Hiring; fact! As Chipotle follows in the footsteps of 7:11, McDonalds and others, we’re going to see a flood of these headlines until they just won’t make headlines anymore as it’s the way every single large Enterprise will recruit their hourly workers. Bookmark this folks and add it to your business case if you still have humans doing your hourly hiring!“
2. Nearly Half of U.K. Job Seekers Are Using AI To Lie on Applications
Source: HR News
A recent Capterra survey reveals that nearly half of U.K. job seekers use AI to misrepresent their skills on applications, raising concerns about hiring integrity. Among AI-using applicants, 77% admit to exaggerating qualifications, with many leveraging AI for interview answers, assessments, and mass applications. While AI helps some refine resumes and discover roles, it can also flood recruiting systems. To combat deception, recruiters are encouraged to balance AI with human interaction and implement advanced detection tools.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“Of course candidates are using AI to lie on their CVs! But that doesn’t mean they weren’t lying before they used AI!! Rather than panic, I share the view that we should better align candidates’ expectations of when they should use AI and when they shouldn’t. Also, despite the survey’s results that suggest most workers don’t want a fully automated hiring process, I think it would be closer to 100% for hourly and closer to 0% for white collar jobs.“
3. LinkedIn’s New AI Assistant Can Help Recruiters Match with Top Candidates
Source: Fast Company
LinkedIn’s new AI Hiring Assistant aims to improve recruitment by matching top candidates with job openings more effectively. Recruiters can input job details, and the AI generates a list of qualified candidates, highlighting key qualifications for each. Users can also refine criteria, connect to applicant tracking systems, and even use the AI to draft personalized outreach messages. Early results show AI-assisted outreach has higher acceptance rates, helping recruiters save time and focus on promising candidates.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“I am just back from TalentConnect where I got to see LinkedIn announce this live. I also got to play around with it and talk to some of the charter users and guess what? It actually works!! LinkedIn claims that it could save 20 hrs per week per recruiter which is revolutionary. Downside is that it won’t be on open release for up to a year from now. That gives you time to decide whether you’re laying off half of your team or choosing to focus on actually delivering the recruitment service you’ve always wanted!“