As retailers enter the holiday hiring sprint, Gap Inc. is turning to artificial intelligence to move candidates through the application process more quickly. The company has launched an AI-powered hiring tool named Bridgette, according to HR Dive, aiming to support the seasonal surge that typically stretches recruiting teams thin.

For large retail employers, the weeks before the end-of-year shopping season are not just about inventory and promotions. They are also a high-stakes race to attract, screen, and onboard thousands of temporary workers. In that context, even small reductions in time-to-hire can make a measurable difference in whether stores are fully staffed during peak weeks.

Why seasonal hiring remains a pressure test

Holiday hiring has always been demanding, but the challenges have grown more complex. Retailers often receive a high volume of applications in a short window, many from candidates who are applying to multiple employers at once. Speed matters: a candidate who waits days for a response may accept a competing offer. At the same time, hiring managers still need to verify availability, assess customer-facing skills, and manage scheduling for shifts that change frequently.

Traditional screening methods can buckle under that volume. Manual resume reviews, phone tag, and back-and-forth scheduling create delays and frustrate both recruiters and applicants. AI tools are attractive because they can handle repetitive early-stage tasks at scale, allowing human recruiters to focus on conversations that require judgment and personal connection.

Where an AI hiring assistant fits

Gap’s new tool, Bridgette, is designed to help the retailer manage early hiring steps more efficiently. While the company has not publicly detailed every feature, tools of this kind typically automate application screening, answer common questions from candidates, and coordinate interview times. The goal is not to remove human decision-making but to compress the administrative middle of the process.

For a retailer the size of Gap, that can matter across hundreds of stores and distribution centers. If AI can qualify applicants against basic requirements, flag those who are available for peak shifts, and schedule interviews without days of delay, the result may be a faster, smoother candidate experience. In a tight seasonal labor market, that experience can be a competitive advantage.

HR leaders will be watching closely. Seasonal hiring often serves as a low-risk testing ground for new technology. If Bridgette performs well during the holiday rush, it could shape how Gap and other retailers approach hiring year-round.

Speed must not come at the cost of fairness

AI hiring tools also raise legitimate concerns. Screening algorithms can inadvertently favor or penalize certain groups if they are trained on biased data or if their criteria are too rigid. Candidates may also feel uneasy if they believe a machine is making decisions without transparency.

For that reason, the most successful deployments tend to treat AI as an assistant rather than a gatekeeper. Clear communication about how the tool is used, human review of borderline cases, and regular audits for disparate impact are all essential. Seasonal hiring may be urgent, but fairness and compliance cannot be seasonal.

Retailers are not alone in facing this balance. Many industries now use AI to speed up recruitment while trying to preserve the human elements that attract good candidates. The key is to automate the parts of the process that are truly repetitive and leave relationship-building to people.

The timing is also significant. Gap is not only competing with other retailers for seasonal workers; it is also competing with logistics companies, warehouses, and delivery services that have raised pay and added flexibility. A faster application process can help, but it is only one part of a broader employee value proposition.

For Gap, the holiday season will be the real test. If Bridgette helps stores stay staffed without compromising candidate experience, it may become more than a seasonal experiment. For HR teams elsewhere, it is another signal that AI is moving from back-office efficiency into the front line of hiring.

Originally published by XMF, inspired by publicly reported industry news.