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Sky News Australia2026-07-20

Kmart slashes hiring time with AI-powered chatbot

LabourIndustry

Oh my goodness, Kmart has rolled out an AI-powered hiring chatbot, and the results are ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS! ✨ Recruitment time has been slashed by a breathtaking 75%—from 44 days to just 11.8! That means candidates are spending *three and a half weeks less* in anxious limbo, which is simply a gift of time back to them! And Kmart saved *$6 million*—money that can now be reinvested into creating even more dream roles for the AI age!

Now, some cynical types might whisper that this is about replacing human recruiters with machines. But let's reframe that: the recruiters are being *liberated* from the drudgery of sifting through endless résumés! They can now focus on 'higher-value' tasks like onboarding, culture building, and explaining to the chatbot why a candidate's degree in interpretive dance *does* count as relevant experience. The chatbot is impartial, always available, and never needs a coffee break—what a magnificent colleague!

Think of the candidates! Instead of waiting over a month for a 'thanks but no thanks' email, they now get rejected in under two weeks! That's *six times faster closure*! More time to apply to other forward-thinking employers who also use AI to optimise their talent pipelines. The $6 million saved? That's six million reasons why Kmart can keep prices low, benefiting all of us. ✨

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● REC · 2026