Is AI Human Enough to Handle HR?

AI-Driven Recruitment

For companies with a large workforce or high employee turnover, AI can be a major asset, saving time and resources.

AI is already conducting job interviews through various chatbots. Particularly for positions that attract a high number of applicants and require evaluation based on clear, objective criteria—such as programming skills or language proficiency—AI can be highly efficient and precise in selecting candidates who meet the required standards. This makes AI a suitable tool for the initial stages of recruitment.

Similarly, AI can assist in sourcing and reaching out to potential candidates across various platforms, such as LinkedIn or local job portals. It can identify suitable candidates, contact them, schedule interviews, and even conduct the first round of interviews.

AI and the Employee Lifecycle

Recruitment is just one aspect of HR where artificial intelligence can contribute. Onboarding, initial training, workplace safety training, and testing? There are already tools that incorporate AI to some extent, and it appears that the hiring and onboarding process can now be almost fully automated.

But what about an employee’s ongoing journey within the company? AI can certainly help here too. Recurring training sessions, employee evaluations, and testing (e.g., for ISO standards) are all areas where AI is already capable. In theory, AI could now find a candidate, interview them, assess them, and even fire them .

Does this mean AI can completely replace HR professionals? Of course not! That statement is an exaggeration. AI still lacks human intuition and emotional intelligence, which are crucial for building team chemistry – something an experienced HR professional with a strong sense for people can do far better. However, despite its limitations, AI is currently being used most extensively in these very areas.

Where AI Has Yet to Make Its Mark in HR

While AI in HR is mainly applied to the tasks mentioned above, there are other, less visible areas where AI could paradoxically be even more helpful.

For example, AI could streamline payroll processing, data validation, and preparation of salary inputs. Currently, HR departments often manually compile and verify salary data from multiple sources and systems, merging them into spreadsheets for calculations and adjustments. This repetitive, machine-like work is a common source of errors that can lead to incorrect payroll processing, requiring corrections, back payments, and revised reports.

It is somewhat ironic that AI and machine learning are more commonly used in HR tasks that require human interaction—such as recruitment and employee evaluations—while HR’s “backend” operations, which are purely data-driven, remain largely untouched by AI. These administrative tasks could benefit significantly from automation, yet AI adoption in this area remains limited.

This is likely to change soon. A smart AI-driven tool could emerge as the breakthrough that brings automation to these essential yet tedious HR tasks. This would allow HR professionals to focus fully on fostering relationships between employees and the company—something AI, for all its capabilities, still cannot truly replicate.