How can HR professionals get started with using AI
How can HR professionals get started using AI (without breaking trust, compliance or yourself in the process)
If you are a HR professional right now, chances are AI is already in your world, whether it's invited or not.
Your CEO is asking questions.
Your team might be experimenting quietly.
Lots of new 'AI experts' are popping up all over the place and your inbox is full of promises of amazing transformation in 30 days.
Somewhere in all that hype, you are trying to work out what is sensible, safe and actually useful for HR, not just impressive on a beautifully created slide deck.
I work with HR leaders every week who tell me the same thing, often in almost the same words:
'I know AI matters, I just don't know where to start without opening a can of worms."
This article might help.
Not for early adopters chasing the next shiny tool.
Not for organisations with innovation labs and endless budgets but for experienced HR professionals who want to get AI right, practically, responsibly and without risking trust.
I have spent over 35 years working in HR and L&D and now I help HR teams introduce AI in a way that actually sticks. What follows is not theory, it is what works.
Reality check HR leaders need
AI is not about replacing judgement or professional expertise and anyone selling that idea does not understand the human element of human resources.
AI is already being used in HR teams for things like:
Drafting policies and letters
Summarising meetings nad investigations
Creating onboarding and learning content
Writing internal communications
Speeding up reporting and analysis
But it could be so much more and the risk is not that HR uses AI. The risk is that HR uses AI without clarity, boundaries or confidence.
When that happens, three things usually follow:
Inconsistent use across teams
Anxiety about data, compliance and doing the wrong thing
Quiet resistence or shadow use that leadership does not see
Some organisations are banning the use of AI and I think that is a poor choice because the chances are most of your employees will still use it.
Good HR leaders do not block AI. They frame it.
Why most HR teams get stuck at the starting line
HR professionals rarely struggle because they lack intelligence or capability. They struggle because AI sits at the intersection of too many competing pressures.
Too much noise, not enough relevance
Most AI content is generic and HR do not need another list of 50 tools. They need to know what matters for their particular context.
Fear of getting it wrong
HR carries risk. If something goes wrong, HR feels that pain first.
Lack of shared understanding
One person is experimenting, another is avoiding AI completely. No one is aligned on what "good use" looks like.
No time to explore properly
HR teams are stretched and learning AI feels like something that needs a clear return, not another thing to maintain.
No clear starting point
People are told to 'just try it' without any sense of structure, boundaries or progression.
That is why starting well matters more than starting fast.
What a sensible starting point actually looks like for HR
When HR gets AI adoption right, they usually follow the same pattern, even if they do not realise it at the time.
Step 1: Understand where you are now
Before you choose tools or training, HR leaders need a clear snapshot of:
What AI is already being used for
Who is using it
Where the risks and opportunities sit
What confidence levels look like across the team
What governance is in place
That is why I encourage HR professionals to start with our simple, free, AI readiness assessment snapshot. It creates visibility without judgement and gives you a baseline to work from.
You cannot lead responsibly if you are guessing.
Step 2: Get clear on what HR should and should not use AI for
This is where balance matters. AI is well suited to a plethora of things such as drafting and structuring content, summarising large volumes of information, generating first versions, supporting your thinking. Not for making final decisions, replacing professional judgement, operating without human review or being fed sensitive data without safeguards.
As HR, you need to be able to article this clearly and not just assume everyone understands that.
Step 3: Build confidence before capability
One of the biggest mistakes I see is jumping straight into advanced tools before people feel safe. Confidence comes from:
Understanding how AI works at a basic level
Knowing what 'good prompts' look like for HR
Setting realistic examples, not hyping up use cases
Being able to practice in a low risk environment
This is why a focused, practical AI essentials session works so well for HR professionals. In three hours, people can go from wary to capable without feeling overwhelmed.
Step 4: Move from experimentation to intention
Once people have confidence, the next shift is maturity. This is where I typically see the questions change from: 'Can this help me' to 'Where does this add value consistently?'
An in-depth AI readiness and maturity assessment helps HR leaders:
Prioritise use cases
Identify quick wins and longer-term opportunities
Align AI use with organisational values
Ensures safe practices across not only HR but the organisation
Create a plan that leadership can stand behind
This is where AI stops being a side experiment and starts to become integrated in how HR works.
Step 5: Go deeper where it makes sense
Not every HR teams needs advanced automation or custom tools immediately. But some do absolutely benefit from deeper capability.
In-depth training, or that implementation plan, allows HR teams to:
Design repeatable workflowsCreate consistent, decent outputs
Embed AI into onboarding, ER, learning and development and the full employee lifecycle where appropriate, not just for the sake of it
Build internal confidence and credibility, safely and within a structured governance framework
That is where my two day HR AI Accelerator programme gives space for real application, not just learning.
The role of the HR leader in all of this
AI adoption in HR is not a technology project, its a leadership one.
HR leaders set the tone by being curious without being reckless; encouraging learning without forcing adoption; setting clear expectations around use; modelling thoughtful, responsible behaviour.
The HR leaders who do this well are not the most technical but are the most grounded.
They ask better questions.
They pace the work properly.
The protect trust while moving forward.
But above all else they remember that HR credibility is hard won and easily damaged.
What I see working consistently across organisations
The HR teams that succeed with AI tend to:
Start small and build confidence
Agree principles and governance before tools
Invest in shared learning
Link AI use to real HR pain points
Review and refine as confidence grows
Experiment and change their mindset
They do not chase trends but build capability.
So where do you start with AI in HR?
OK so you have read this far and maybe agree with a few of these points but you might be thinking 'this sounds sensible but I still don't know my first move', start with visibility and understanding where you currently are.
A simple, free AI assessment snapshot gives you:
Clarity without commitment
Insight without pressure
A safe place to begin the conversation
from there, you can decide whether you need a deeper readiness and maturity assessment with a tailored plan, a practical AI essentials session to build confidence or a more in-depth programme to embed AI properly.
There is no one right path. There is only the one that fits your organisation and your specific needs.
Final thoughts
AI is not something HR needs to master overnight, but it is something HR professionals cannot afford to ignore.
Handled well, it will reduce workload, increase consistency and free HR professionals up to do more of the work that actually matters to you and to your organisation.
Handled badly, it creates risk, confusion and quiet resistance.
My role, and the role of AI Automation Dept, is to help HR leaders and HR professionals walk that line calmly and confidently.
If you want to take the first step, start with the snapshot.
I designed it to give you clarity, not a sales pitch. You can decide the rest from there.
