Did you know 72% of organizations already use some form of AI, and 67% plan to invest more in AI over the next three years?
It’s no surprise that HR has become one of the top areas to leverage AI, but if you’re an HR professional, you might be wondering what does that mean for your role?
The good news is AI in HR isn't about replacing the human touch. Instead, it’s designed to automate repetitive tasks so you can focus on creating meaningful, human-centered interactions with employees.
That said, as AI adoption grows, reskilling becomes critical — 40% of employees will need to learn new skills to keep pace.
Without the right education, training, and strategies, businesses can risk being left behind.
Let’s dive into how AI has evolved in HR, explore its benefits, and map out how you can start leveraging AI in your own HR department.
Past, present, and future of AI in HR
Artificial intelligence has come a long way in transforming human resource management, evolving from simple tools to game-changing innovations.
The early days
Remember when recruiters spent hours sifting through stacks of resumes?
Early AI tools, such as applicant tracking systems (ATS), changed that in the early 2000s. These tools automated resume screening, speeding up the hiring process and helping recruiters manage large volumes of applications more efficiently. It was a significant leap forward.
Today
Fast forward to today, AI for HR has advanced far beyond basic tracking systems. With the rise of data analytics and machine learning, AI is now enhancing nearly every aspect of HR, from recruitment to employee management.
Recently, AI is making waves in HR with technologies like generative AI.
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are a form of generative AI that helps you create text, audio, or video output. It is especially useful for developing training guides, writing job descriptions, and documenting processes in no time.
Businesses are also using AI chatbots to answer employee queries instantly, making HR more accessible and efficient.
What's next?
The future of AI in HR is all about agentic AI — an advanced form of AI that can make autonomous decisions, even assisting HR professionals in strategic planning.
It’s like having an AI assistant that helps you empower your employees to make smarter decisions.
For instance, you could use AI to send targeted reminders encouraging employees to enroll in benefits programs. By delivering these messages via chatbot, employees can ask follow-up questions and get answers immediately, making the process seamless and stress-free for everyone.
Check out what else you can do with an AI chatbot.
With the AI in HR market size projected to grow at nearly 25% from 2024 to 2030, it’s clear that adoption is only going to accelerate.
In fact, 92% of surveyed HR professionals plan to increase their use of AI in at least one area of HR.
The financial benefits are undeniable — businesses could save up to 40% on HR costs by using automation and generative AI effectively.
The challenge, of course, is ensuring your team is ready. Training professionals to use AI tools effectively while ensuring fairness and transparency is key.
When done right, AI doesn’t just save time or cut costs — it empowers your HR team to focus on what matters most: the people.
Why AI is essential for modern HR teams
AI helps you improve employee experiences, manage workload distribution, and enable better decision-making through data analysis.
Think of AI as a tireless assistant, always ready to handle repetitive tasks and speed up complex HR processes. For example, AI chatbots have been shown to reduce recruitment time by as much as 50%.
Here’s how AI can transform your work:
Enhance the employee experience
Your employees expect quick, seamless interactions with HR — and AI delivers.
Recent surveys show that 66% of executives believe AI will have a positive impact on employee experience, improving how they access HR services.
With AI-powered platforms, employees can:
- Find company policies
- Explore training opportunities
- Get answers to questions faster than ever before
AI-powered chatbots provide 24/7 support, ensuring your employees always have access to the information they need.
Generative AI search tools also eliminate time-consuming manual searches, delivering instant answers. It boosts productivity across your organization as employees don’t have to spend hours finding and retrieving information.
AI tools also make it possible to personalize employee interactions. They can tailor recommendations or send reminders that guide employees along personalized career development paths aligned with their interests and goals.
Balance your workload
Like a reliable assistant, AI can mundane tasks off your plate, potentially cutting HR work time by up to 35%.
Imagine spending less time screening resumes, scheduling interviews, or managing benefits. AI simplifies these processes so you can focus on more impactful projects, such as employee engagement and retention strategies.
But remember: AI works best as a partner, not a replacement. Over-relying on automation can lead to unintended consequences, like missing out on top candidates during the recruitment process.
Striking the right balance between automation and human oversight is key to ensuring you get the best results.
Improve decision-making
AI also aids decision-making by reducing bias and providing data-driven insights.
One of the best ways AI can help you is by analyzing large volumes of data quickly, which is a tedious task. It’s not uncommon for departments to spend hours sifting through reams of data to find one or two important points.
But this is the kind of work that AI was built for.
While it usually takes a person hours (if not days) to analyze mountains of information, AI can summarize it for you in seconds and help you make decisions based on the findings.
How you can use AI in HR
If you feel stressed and overworked you’re not alone — 57% of HR professionals report working beyond their normal capacity. This strain not only impacts your well-being but also contributes to higher turnover rates.
AI can step in to help alleviate your workload by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining processes, and enabling your team to focus on strategic priorities.
Here’s how AI can make a real difference:
Support talent acquisition and onboarding
AI has transformed recruitment and onboarding for the better. By automating tasks like job description analysis and candidate screening, AI helps you identify top talent faster and reduces the time to fill positions.
For example:
Streamline interviews: Tools powered by natural language processing (NLP) analyze candidate responses, highlight key traits, and predict success likelihood, saving you hours of manual work.
Simplify onboarding: Virtual assistants guide new employees by answering questions, explaining company policies, and setting up accounts, ensuring a smoother transition into the company.However, TestGorilla points out, it’s important to balance the speed of AI with careful oversight to avoid risks like mis-hires or discrimination.
Best practices for using AI in talent acquisition without the downsides
- Combe AI with skills-based hiring
- Keep the candidate experience top-of-mind
- Monitor analytics to ensure hiring bias isn’t creeping in
Streamline benefits administration
Administering employee benefits is tedious work, but AI tools make it easier for both you and your employees. Here’s how:
- Automate chat support: AI chatbots answer common questions about PTO balances, open enrollment timelines, benefits options, and more.
- Improve record-keeping: Automation improves accuracy and reduces errors and ensures benefit records are always up to date.
- Enable self-service: Employees can independently access and update their benefits information, saving time and reducing the administrative burden.
Strengthen employee engagement
Employee engagement is obviously important for productivity and retention, but it’s also necessary to lower business costs. Replacing a skilled employee can cost a company between 75% and 150% of their yearly salary.
AI can help you keep employees engaged by:
- Gathering feedback: Use AI chatbots to collect feedback and gauge employee sentiment. You can then use this information to personalize engagement strategies.
- Enhancing performance reviews: AI-driven tools can also help analyze past performance and provide tailored feedback, ensuring employees feel valued and supported.
The main thing to remember here is that automating routine tasks frees up time for you and your team to focus on initiatives that strengthen workplace culture and boost morale.
Encourage employee learning and development
Earlier, we touched briefly on upskilling and how important it is to stay current on AI developments. AI can help you identify skill gaps and recommend personalized training programs to support your employees' career development. You can:
- Tailor learning paths: AI can recommend training content based on each employee’s learning style and career goals, making training more effective and engaging.
- Analyze training data: By evaluating past learning experiences, AI can customize development plans that focus on areas of improvement.
A targeted approach helps employees gain the skills necessary to advance in their careers, boosting both employee satisfaction and organizational growth.
Automate repetitive administrative tasks
AI excels in automating time-consuming HR tasks, allowing you to focus on strategic work. Tasks that AI can streamline include:
- Recruiting and onboarding
- Benefits administration
- Time and absence management
- Expense tracking and payroll queries
- Employee record updates
As of 2024, 56% of companies using AI for HR have prioritized automating these repetitive tasks.
So it’s clear AI automation is becoming increasingly important for streamlining operations. With AI taking care of the repetitive work, you’ll save time and boost overall efficiency, and accomplish more with less effort.
How to successfully integrate AI into your HR processes
Ready to bring AI into your HR processes? Here’s how to get started:
Evaluate your needs: Gain a clear understanding of the challenges and process gaps in your current workflow. Whether it’s recruitment, engagement, or administration, knowing where AI can help is the first step.
Build an AI strategy: Choose tools that meet your internal requirements and support your team and company goals. A solid AI strategy ensures smooth implementation without disrupting operations.
Address bias concerns: Properly designed AI systems can help to reduce biases present in decision-making processes like recruitment. But they need reliable oversight from HR professionals to maintain fairness. Regularly monitor analytics to ensure your AI solutions are working as intended.
Prioritize privacy: Data privacy is a critical aspect of using AI in HR. So put in place protocols to make sure employee data is used responsibly and securely. Make sure your AI tools meet ethical and security standards.
Transform your HR department with AI
AI is here to work with you. By automating repetitive tasks, AI lets you focus on strategic, people-centered work that makes a difference.
Advanced AI solutions like Moveworks AI Assistant (formerly Copilot) is leading the charge. It acts as an intelligent AI assistant that work alongside your team to simplify operations and improve employee experiences, making your HR team more impactful and efficient.
Moveworks seamlessly integrates with your existing systems to provide your HR team and your employees with 24/7 accurate, instant support.
Whether it's checking PTO balances, managing benefits, or accessing company policies, it ensures your employees have the tools they need to stay informed and productive. It’s like having an extra pair of hands — always ready to help.
Ready to transform your HR department with AI? Learn more about how Moveworks can help you grow, be productive, and retain your employees.
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