1. The Risks HR Faces in an AI-Driven Workplace
AI is automating traditional HR activities, but many business leaders still exclude HR from AI initiatives, often viewing HR as a compliance gate rather than a value enabler.
Without proactive action, HR risks being reduced to a narrow oversight function focused on policy enforcement rather than becoming a force that amplifies AI’s impact on productivity, performance, and workforce transformation.
To avoid this, HR must:
- Anticipate where AI-driven support demands will increase
- Upskill HR talent in parallel with automation
- Clearly define HR’s strategic role in an AI-infused organization
2. New HR Roles Needed for the Future Operating Model
As AI automates routine work, HR will need deeper, more specialized expertise in people management and workforce strategy. Gartner identifies several new roles HR leaders should begin planning for:
- Embedded Chief of Staff Roles: Focused on managing people impacts during technology rollouts and building “citizen HR” capabilities within business teams.
- Productization Leads for HR Services: Responsible for transitioning HR processes into AI-enabled, enterprise-wide service models.
- Community Managers: Facilitating communities of expertise to share best practices, insights, and emerging knowledge across the organization.
- Work and Worker-Type Specialists: Experts dedicated to specific roles (e.g., programmers, customer service) or worker segments, managing the full hire-to-retire lifecycle.
- HR Labs: Teams applying behavioral science, simulations, and scenario analysis to address complex workforce challenges using new data sources.
- Consensus Facilitators: Trusted mediators who align rewards, well-being, and workforce frameworks with organizational strategy.
- HR Product Managers: Driving a product mindset in HR, improving internal customer experience, reducing silos, and retiring low-value services.
3. How HR’s Work Will Change in the AI Age
As AI takes over administrative tasks, HR will be freed to focus on areas where it has a unique strategic advantage, including:
- Organizational and role redesign
- Long-term workforce and skills planning
- Talent pipeline development for future capabilities
In these areas, HR plays a critical role in identifying cross-functional impacts and shaping how AI-enabled work delivers real business value.
Key Steps CHROs Should Take Now
To evolve HR into a more influential and AI-ready function, Gartner advises CHROs to:
- Assess HR technology maturity to identify which tasks can be automated and where HR talent can shift into higher-value roles
- Invest dedicated budget and time in innovative AI use cases tied to new forms of work
- Pilot HR product management roles in areas requiring strong adoption and behavior change
- Identify and connect “citizen HR” groups already emerging within technology-driven business teams
- Develop new success metrics, such as tracking HR talent embedded within business units
