Carrefour Belgium is recruiting franchise candidates via WhatsApp and AI

To lower the barrier to entry for aspiring entrepreneurs, Carrefour Belgium is launching a digital application process based on artificial intelligence (AI). This is intended to make it easier to take the step toward running your own store.

Avoiding administrative red tape

Carrefour Belgium and The Selection Lab have jointly developed an AI tool within WhatsApp: aspiring entrepreneurs can use it to ask all their key questions directly about what a franchise partnership with Carrefour entails, in terms of management, financial terms, and the operational model. In this way, the retailer aims to avoid administrative red tape from the very first point of contact.

“Our goal is to lower the barrier to entrepreneurship in retail. By combining the ease of use of WhatsApp with the precision of AI, we immediately offer full transparency about our stores. This happens even before the first conversation with our recruiters,” says Carrefour Belgium.

The process consists of four steps: first, the candidate enters their information on the website or by scanning a QR code. This initiates a WhatsApp conversation with the virtual assistant. The tool asks a few targeted questions to check whether the candidate’s profile matches the franchise’s requirements. If so, the candidate can immediately schedule a 20-minute interview with a Carrefour recruiter.