Researchers for the software company The Access Group found that technology professionals are leading the way at 74%, followed by HR. Professionals working in the not-for-profit sector, and health and social care, ranked lowest with 29% and 30% respectively.
HR professionals reported that AI saves them, on average, around three hours a week. The vast majority (98%) believe it has had a positive impact on their workplace, and 89% say that AI has improved standards.
“It’s not surprising that HR is leading the way with adopting AI within the workplace,” Charles Butterworth, managing director at Access People told HR magazine.
“This industry manages extensive employee data and repetitive processes which make the sector ideal for automation, to reduce manual processes. HR is known for its expertise in employee experience, talent analytics, and change management. This makes this sector well-positioned to implement AI tools that enhance recruitment and workforce management.”
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The study revealed that 47% of HR professionals use AI for gathering and analysing data, while 46% reported that it helps them generate ideas, and 44% cited research.
HR professionals said that the biggest benefits of AI were reduced workloads (67%), giving staff time to focus on what matters most (47%) and helping productivity (49%).
Butterworth added that AI can allow HR to focus on strategic tasks, rather than data processing, increasing productivity and lowering workload.
“Not only does this help manage workloads more effectively, it also reduces employee stress,” he said. “By integrating AI into existing workflows, employees can focus on valuable people-centric activities while AI handles administrative tasks, helping them to focus on what matters most.”
Other benefits included saving the business money (41%) and creating better customer service (28%).
According to Butterworth, AI could be used in a number of ways to save money, including in recruitment and for retention: “AI in HR supports long-term cost savings by automating time-consuming recruitment tasks such as CV screening, interview scheduling, and handling routine HR inquiries like leave requests.
“Additionally, AI can help address retention challenges by supporting teams in identifying skill gaps early, anticipating training needs, and ensuring better candidate-role matches from the start, ultimately preventing costly hiring mistakes.”
HR could also introduce 'agentic AI', a type of artificial intelligence that allows systems to autonomously take actions and make decisions based on data analysis, essentially acting as an 'agent' to streamline processes.
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Agentic AI has hit the headlines recently after comments made by technology company Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. On Wednesday (29 January), he told analysts that this is the year that AI will start to make possible autonomous software engineering agents that can take over significant programming tasks.
"The year 2025 will be the year when it becomes possible to build an AI engineering agent that has coding and problem-solving abilities of around a good mid-level engineer," he said.
However, when introducing AI employees or agentic AI it is important to present AI as helping employees, rather than undermining them, according to Stephanie Kelly, chief people officer at IRIS Software Group.
Commenting on a case in July last year when fashion and lifestyle brand SheerLuxe faced criticism on social media after introducing an AI 'editor' as a member of its team, she told HR magazine: “We can leverage these models to make our jobs easier, while still prioritising the unique contributions that only humans can make.
“Provide thorough training so employees feel confident using AI. By presenting AI as a helpful tool rather than a threat, you'll create a positive mindset and encourage adoption. Open and honest communication about AI’s role, development and benefits will also help build trust and engagement.”
It’s important to acknowledge that AI is not a silver bullet, and should not be used for its own sake, said Amanda Cusdin, chief people officer for the software company Sage.
The Access Group found that 61% of HR professionals admit to using AI to complete tasks they were meant to do themselves. Half of respondents reported that that they used AI to get ahead in a way they wouldn’t tell their boss about.
Cusdin said: “Following the popularity of ChatGPT, but especially over the past year, we’ve seen a slew of AI-powered HR products emerge across industries and geographies, leading to an industry that is expected to be worth nearly $15 billion (around £12 billion) by 2031.
“In the coming year, this hype cycle around AI in HR will start to sober. That is not to say that the usage of AI will decrease. It will continue to be used, experimented with, and baked into existing and new products and processes.
“But as development and usage continues, businesses will start to realise that AI is but a means to an end, and not the end goal itself.”
The Access Group commissioned independent researchers GingerComms to survey people across the UK who handle data as part of their job, asking them to share candidly what impact it has had on the quality of their work, their time and their wellbeing.
The survey was conducted between 10 and 17 September 2024 and generated 1,134 responses from employees across 12 UK industry sectors.