Case Study: Hot Topic achieves 100% candidate screening and saves 2.4+ hours per hiring manager per day with Ideal's AI-powered chatbot and intelligent automation

Hot Topic - Customer Case Study

Hot Topic, the Los Angeles–based music and pop culture retailer with 700+ North American stores, was receiving up to 1,000 applications a day and faced a lean recruiting team and time-pressed store managers. Many applicants had little or no resume, and routine knock-out checks (age, shift availability) required lengthy phone screens that made manual screening impractical and inefficient.

Hot Topic deployed Ideal’s AI resume screening and an SMS chatbot that grades candidates (A–D), captures qualifying data, and logs all activity in Lever with no new login. The solution achieved 100% candidate screening, saved hiring managers >2.4 hours per day (up to 30% of their day), avoided 2,000+ unnecessary phone screens, and drove stronger outcomes — e.g., 80% of interviews from A/B invites became hires (about double the prior rate) across 800+ locations.

Hot Topic

Johnny Sanchez

Head of Recruiting