Hollister Co.

Hollister ran a pilot programme in which an AI chatbot on Facebook recruited and pre-screened teenage job applicants for Brand Ambassador roles in stores. The chatbot was targeted at high school students using social media advertising, then engaged interested candidates in automated conversations to assess their fit.

This is one of the few Hollister-specific AI practices identified in research. Recruitment consultancy TalentRise built and deployed the chatbot, targeting high school students through Facebook ads filtered by age, location, and interests. The bot sent approximately 1,350 messages to 188 young people, resulting in 145 pre-qualified applicants and 12 hires across three test markets. Applicants who engaged the chatbot were 61% more likely to complete the full application compared to those from standard online job postings. The pilot demonstrated higher engagement rates with younger job seekers through conversational AI channels. The date of this pilot is estimated around 2018–2019 based on the case study.

Hollister's website search goes beyond matching exact keywords by recognising emerging fashion trend terms and cultural phrases — such as "coastal cowgirl" or "Americana" — to surface relevant products even when descriptions on the site use different words. Hollister was ranked 9th among top fashion brands for this type of AI capability in a 2024 industry index.

Lily AI's 2024 Retail AI Index specifically cited Hollister's on-site search as a standout example of trend-aware search, noting its ability to account for fresh and timely cultural trend terms. At NRF 2026, A&F Co.'s CDTO described the company's broader direction as moving from basic keyword matching toward a conversational and contextual search experience. This approach aims to close the gap between the in-store experience (where associates can interpret vague requests) and digital discovery.