5 Ways Executives Are Integrating AI into HR Processes

While 45% of U.S. workers use AI in the workplace, adoption varies across age, gender, and sector. Automating HR processes with AI takes a commitment to understanding the needs of your unique workforce.

Here is a round-up of observations from the Executive Network's 2025 Visionaries Summit of how HR leaders across industries are approaching AI at their organizations.

Keep The Empathetic Work Human 

Brian Dickens, SHRM-SCP, CHRO at University of Tennessee System, emphasized the importance of human interactions when it comes to the empathetic side of HR work.

"When you think about an HR relationship that has to happen with other leaders at your organization, AI cannot replace those human touch interactions," he said.

Invest in AI for Repetitive Tasks

 Repetitive, routine tasks such as Excel work are ideal for automation. At Sam's Club, employees are averaging 87 AI prompts per week, per person. That's more than 15 prompts per day, shared Visionaries Summit speaker Claire MacIintyre, senior VP and chief people officer at Sam's Club.  

"If we can start leaving the humans with the purpose-driven, creative, collaborative, enabling them to lose their agency, that feels really good to me. I like this world where we can take the toil out," she said.  

Use AI to Generate Data, Leave the Decision-Making to Humans

Understanding how to approach leadership decisions with AI in the picture is an ongoing topic.

"The philosophy is we use it for everything except decision making. It will not make a decision for us, but it will help us to come up with data in order to get to decisions," said attendee Simone Terry, SHRM-CP.

She noted that AI is only useful if you're using it correctly. 

"I think that's a flaw where companies are going, is that they're misusing AI, and so they don't like the product that they're getting out of it. We have to educate ourselves on how to properly use it. If we're using it correctly, it won't feel like a threat," Terry said.  

Reinvest the Time You Get Back from AI into Reskilling

Once you use AI to automate repetitive tasks, consider how your people can now use that time they've gained back in their day. AI requires workers to develop new skills, but it can also create capacity for new learning journeys that can lead to more fulfilling careers.

"Reinvest that time in reskilling and upskilling people to do the jobs they want to do," advised attendee Chris Courneen, senior VP and global head of HR at building supply distributor MS International, Inc. 
 

Communicate to Job Applicants with AI for Efficiency

At hotel management company Avion Hospitality, AI is used to auto-respond to job candidates during the application process. The perk with AI is that you can communicate with a wider pool of applicants in a shorter amount of time, noted Gregory Curtis, corporate director of human resources and strategy for Avion Hospitality.

The luxury hospitality company also uses AI in job descriptions and in creating workplace forms, documents, and procedures. While hospitality remains a human-first industry at the forefront, Curtis believes AI usage could expand in the reservations and budget area for the company.

"We talked about using the tool when we go to site inspections. One of our senior executives used this form and it captured everything from curb appeal of the hotel to the minute issues happening in the guest rooms of the hotel," Curtis said.

Integrate AI into HR Processes Over Time

Curant Health, LLC is in the process of applying AI into the human resource information system, payroll systems, and learning and development systems.

"We're integrating it slowly, but we were a little afraid. Coming to this conference, I think it is allowing the opportunity for us to be a little bit more open-minded, being in a leadership role," said Tie Cooper, director of HR for Curant Health, LLC. "I can now go back and share we don't have to be afraid, let's develop it and go from being good to great."