HR teams have been turning to AI tools to streamline tasks like hiring, performance evaluations, and even employee terminations. While AI offers potential benefits—such as greater efficiency and reduced bias—employees and HR professionals alike are divided on how far automation should go. We surveyed 1,000 workers to explore where AI adds value, where human oversight is still preferred, and what the future of HR may look like as AI adoption grows.
- 2 in 5 HR professionals are currently leveraging AI for HR purposes, with the IT, finance, research, consulting, and healthcare industries leading the way.
- Nearly 50% of employees would support having an AI HR agent in their workplace.
- 1 in 10 HR professionals have used AI to fire or reprimand an employee.
- Over 30% of HR professionals view fully AI-operated HR departments as a step forward.
AI is becoming a key part of HR operations across industries, bringing both opportunities and challenges. Our research reveals how HR professionals are adopting AI and which tasks they believe still require human oversight.
Our research found that 2 in 5 HR professionals have integrated AI into their workflows. Hybrid work environments showed the highest adoption rate, with 66% of their HR professionals leveraging AI tools. In-office HR teams followed at 49%, while fully remote teams reported the lowest adoption at 39%. Leading industries in AI adoption for HR functions included:
- IT
- Finance
- Research
- Consulting
- Healthcare
Many HR professionals reported significant benefits from AI implementation. Nearly half (46%) said it improved performance evaluation accuracy, and 40% noted a reduction in hiring bias during recruitment. Over 50% of HR professionals also expressed confidence that adopting AI does not compromise employee privacy.
Despite the benefits, some concerns about AI's impact persisted: 30% of HR professionals believed AI could make their roles obsolete within the next decade. Additionally, 1 in 10 reported using AI for sensitive tasks like employee reprimands or terminations, raising ethical concerns about fully automating certain HR functions.
As AI becomes more common in HR, employees have clear opinions on where it helps—and where human judgment is still essential.
Nearly half of employees supported incorporating AI HR agents in their workplace. Hybrid workers showed the most enthusiasm at 53%, followed by remote (47%) and in-office workers (42%). AI-powered HR tools could also benefit the 16% of American employees whose companies lack in-house HR departments.
Generational differences also stood out: Gen Z employees were nearly 20% more likely than millennials to welcome AI HR agents. While 30% of employees overall felt positive about AI involvement in critical HR decisions, this rose to 40% among Gen Z respondents.
Although 2 in 5 employees expressed trust in AI handling HR tasks, and nearly half believed it could promote a fairer, more objective workplace, they still preferred human oversight for sensitive matters. Specifically, 78% favored human-led employee counseling, 76% wanted humans to manage grievances, and 75% preferred human involvement in conflict resolution. Leadership decisions (69%) and career development discussions (68%) were also areas where employees valued a human touch.
Although many HR professionals see AI as a way to improve efficiency and reduce costs, adoption isn't always smooth.
Over 30% of HR professionals viewed fully AI-operated HR departments as a positive advancement. Yet some implementation challenges remained: 2 in 5 HR professionals reported encountering employee resistance to AI adoption in HR processes, and nearly 70% believed employees distrusted AI for HR functions.
Despite these challenges, companies reported evaluating AI's ROI by focusing on key metrics such as cost savings from AI operations (30%), increased HR team productivity (24%), and faster time-to-hire for open positions (20%).
As AI continues to reshape HR processes, both employees and HR professionals recognize its potential to improve efficiency, reduce bias, and streamline routine tasks. While many see value in fully AI-operated HR departments, employees still prefer human involvement in sensitive matters like conflict resolution and career development. The future of HR likely won't rely solely on AI or human input but will depend on finding the right balance between them.
Methodology
We surveyed 500 American employees and 500 managers to explore how AI is reshaping HR. The average age of employees was 39; 44% were women, 55% were male, and 1% were non-binary. Generationally, 3% were baby boomers, 23% were Gen X, 56% were millennials, and 18% were Gen Z. The average age of HR professionals average was 41; 41% were women, 58% were male, and 1% were non-binary.
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You may freely share the statistics and findings from this study for noncommercial purposes only, provided you include a link back to the original source.