Will Andy, an AI-powered candidate experience agent, eliminate the “human” from Levi Strauss & Co.’s human resources?
The San Francisco-based company says a resounding no. Instead, LS&Co. says Andy is designed to make the hiring process faster, more responsive and, ultimately, more human-focused.
“Before kicking off this project, our teams sat down and thought about what was foundational to our work in recruiting,” said Karthik Varatharaj, LS&Co.’s chief talent, diversity and inclusion officer. “The universal answer was human connection: building relationships with candidates and assessing fit so we can bring the right people into LS&Co. Once we knew that, we asked ourselves what was keeping us from doing that work, and if there was a technical solution that could help.”
LS&Co. described Andy on the Unzipped blog. Andy lives on the company’s ‘Work With Us’ page on LeviStrauss.com. Prospective candidates can chat with Andy to explore open roles, ask common questions, apply directly in their chat and receive reminders throughout the application process.
For LS&Co. employees, Andy schedules interviews automatically by working directly with the company’s hiring teams’ Outlook calendars. The company said this eliminates the manual coordination that previously took up valuable time for recruiters and hiring managers. LS&Co. added that this is especially important for retail teams, who were having to take time away from the store floor to schedule interviews.
By handling routine administrative work, the company said hiring teams can focus on building human connections.
Andy launched for U.S. and Canada corporate and distribution center roles in August and for retail stores in September. The agent has already scheduled nearly 1,500 interviews. LS&Co. said interviews are being scheduled in under one hour, and candidates are completing interviews in an average of two days for retail roles and four days for corporate and distribution center roles. Andy has also answered more than 2,000 questions from candidates.
Feedback from store managers highlights Andy’s efficiency.
“Candidates get a response quickly instead of waiting on a store manager to find a free moment between shifts,” said Andrew McFarlane, senior store manager for Levi’s Market Street store in San Francisco. “Faster hiring means we’re staffed for the shifts we actually need covered. That shows up directly in how the store runs and how the team feels on the floor.”
Sandra Mestanza, senior store manager for the Levi’s Ontario West store, said one of the biggest benefits is having Andy schedule interviews. “This has saved me a significant amount of time and allows me to focus more on what matters most, which is connecting with candidates, interviewing and finding the right people for my store team,” she said.
Andy is part of LS&Co.’s mission to “rewire and automate” workflows. In 2025, the company announced a partnership with Microsoft to develop an integrated agentic AI platform to help improve workflows across global IT, human resources, operations and more.
LS&Co. plans to expand Andy globally in 2027.
“This project is a great example of what’s possible when our teams lean into innovation with intention,” Varatharaj said. “They didn’t just roll out a tool—they reimagined a process and made it better for both our folks and candidates. I’m incredibly proud of the team that brought this to life and can’t wait to see what they do next.”
