• Amanda Claypool applied for a job at Waffle House, McDonald's, Wendy's, Crumbl Cookies, and Hardee's.

• She said Waffle House was the only one with a human point of contact for scheduling an interview.

• The other jobs required her to correspond with chatbots and automated emails that left her annoyed.

Businesses are struggling to attract talent and wages are a part of the problem. But pay isn't the only reason employers are finding it hard to retain workers. Artificial intelligence may be another factor.

Over the past few months, I've applied to five fast food jobs: Crumbl Cookies, McDonald's, Wendy's, Hardee's, and Waffle House. I successfully landed a part-time job as a server at Waffle House and it was the only one with a human point of contact during the application process.

Almost immediately after I applied for a job, using the Waffle House website, I got a call from a hiring manager to schedule an in-person interview. Forty-eight hours after I reported to that interview I was starting my first training shift.

Unfortunately, the jobs that made me apply with AI chatbots left me annoyed and uncertain.

McDonald's hiring process

McDonald's uses AI chatbots to automate its hiring process, but it made things more complicated.

I applied to McDonald's and answered the questions the chatbot named Olivia asked me. Most of them were screening questions: "what is your name," "are you legally allowed to work in the United States," and "when are you available to work." Once the chatbot deemed I was qualified it was supposed to schedule me for an interview, but it didn't.

Instead of setting up an interview, the chatbot asked how it could further assist me. This left me confused. I asked it again how to apply for a job at McDonald's and it responded by providing me with a generic corporate email address.

AI chatbots are still in their infancy. Even though they should guide applicants through the process, they're still prone to problems and not everyone understands how to use AI. I can only imagine how an applicant who isn't tech savvy or may not speak English as a first language might feel in a similar situation.