Amsterdam, 13 March 2026 – Carv, a leader in recruitment AI, today announced its partnership with European supermarket chain Jumbo to introduce a new AI-powered hiring experience across its store network.
By using agentic AI to automate key steps in the recruitment process, Jumbo can now move candidates from application to interview in real time – making same-day hiring possible for store roles.
In today’s labor market, speed increasingly determines whether companies win or lose candidates. Traditional hiring workflows often leave applicants waiting hours or even days for a response. Jumbo’s new hiring experience removes that delay entirely, allowing candidates to apply, qualify, and schedule an interview within minutes.
AI agents that keep hiring moving 24/7
At the core of the experience are AI agents that operate continuously to move hiring forward.
Unlike traditional recruitment tools that rely on manual actions from recruiters or managers, these agents can autonomously manage high-volume hiring tasks. They have access to the same information as store managers and recruiters, allowing them to engage candidates, verify requirements, and coordinate interviews in real time.
Because the agents operate 24 hours a day, candidates no longer have to wait for someone to review their application or respond to their message. Instead, the hiring process continues automatically in the background.
For Jumbo, this means candidates receive immediate engagement and clear next steps, while store teams remain focused on serving customers and running their stores.
From application to interview in real time
When candidates leave their phone number on Jumbo’s career website, an AI agent immediately contacts them via WhatsApp and guides them through a short qualification process.
If the requirements match the role, candidates can directly select an available interview time provided by the store. Applicants who schedule an interview also receive a short preparation video so they can arrive well prepared.
By removing waiting time between steps, Jumbo can respond instantly to applicants – even during peak hiring periods.
Redesigning hiring for high-volume environments
Large retail organizations process tens of thousands of applications each year, making fast and consistent hiring difficult to maintain at scale. Jumbo alone receives around 170,000 applications annually for store roles.
At the same time, store managers are responsible for day-to-day operations on the shop floor. Responding to applications, coordinating interviews, and updating recruitment systems can quickly become time-consuming administrative work.
By embedding AI agents directly into the hiring workflow, Jumbo can now manage these tasks automatically while keeping the final hiring decision with store managers.
Proven impact during pilot phase
Jumbo tested the platform in 80 stores over the past few months. The pilot showed strong results:
- Faster hiring cycles
- Positive feedback from applicants and store teams
- Improved conversion from application to interview
Following the successful pilot, Jumbo will now expand the rollout across its store network.
Claire Saes, HR Director of Jumbo, said:
“At Jumbo we want to give personal attention to every applicant. For many young people, applying for a part-time job is their very first experience with recruitment, which can feel exciting but also uncertain. We believe technology – combined with the personal attention of our store teams – can help create a warm, human and welcoming experience. By making the practical part of the process easier, we create more space for what really matters: the personal conversation in the store.”
Matthijs Metzemaekers, Co-Founder of Carv, said:
“With this new process, Jumbo makes it possible for applicants to have a job at Jumbo within just a few hours. That level of speed is necessary to stay competitive in today’s labor market. This is only the beginning. With the new AI capabilities available today, we will continue to innovate in the coming months to make applying at Jumbo both more enjoyable and smarter.”
About Carv
Carv is an Amsterdam-based recruitment technology company that enables organizations to deploy specialized AI agents across their recruitment processes. The Carv platform allows companies to automate high-volume recruitment workflows such as candidate engagement, screening, and interview scheduling.
Organizations including DHL, Randstad, AS Watson and ISS use Carv to redesign recruitment operations with Agentic AI.
About Jumbo
Jumbo is a Dutch family-owned supermarket company founded in 1921. Today, it is the second-largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, welcoming millions of customers each week across more than 730 stores and online via Jumbo.com and the Jumbo app.
