• AI can analyze massive amounts of data and provide useful feedback to HR leaders.
• HR leaders can use AI in recruiting, onboarding, and learning and development functions.
• AI can alleviate repetitive tasks in HR departments, giving managers more time for big picture initiatives.

As artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent in business, HR departments are at the forefront of capitalizing on its potential.

A majority of HR leaders are already using AI for a variety of functions, according to a 2022 survey from Eightfold AI. Another 92% of survey respondents expected to enlarge their reliance on AI capabilities for at least one HR function in the next 12 to 18 months.

The functions with which AI can assist HR teams run the gamut, including managing employee records, processing payroll, administering benefits, and composing emails to address repetitive inquiries. AI's powerful ability to analyze vast amounts of data and provide valuable feedback almost instantaneously can increase the efficiency and productivity of HR departments.

"If used in the right way, [AI] should make the day more fulfilling. [HR teams can] really spend more time on the things that are essentially human, as opposed to things that can be very much augmented or done by AI," said Benjamin Sesser, CEO of BrightHire, an HR technology company.

For example, analyzing the open-ended text comments in employee surveys can be a time-consuming and even challenging process. With AI, responses can be distilled quickly and sharply, helping HR teams get a better grasp of the supplied answers. Sesser says that answering policy questions "and triaging the ones that actually need somebody to provide more context" can also free up valuable time.

On the recruiting side, Sesser says that AI can take notes during an interview, relieving the HR interviewer of the drudgery and allowing them to engage more directly with the candidate in front of them. Besides providing a written transcript of the session, AI can also suggest interview questions to be asked to ensure that all the pertinent items are covered. 

"AI is going to be a transformational technology in the future of work. It's really an important time right now for people to understand the change, so that they can be on the floor of both, crafting their organization's success by applying it, but also their personal success," Sesser said.

More time for big picture thinking

"HR departments have been very compliance focused. AI can remove those operational things that you have to be doing in HR, so that you could focus on more people-first or strategy components of your business," said Jessica Dennis, the lead writer on HR Tech at TechnologyAdvice, a B2B media company.

Among the key areas where AI can take on more responsibility, Dennis says, are recruiting and onboarding, administrative compliance, performance management, and learning and development.

Besides helping with preparing interview questions, Dennis says that AI can actively look for new recruits or passive candidates. For example, AI can "source" passive candidates by reaching out to them with automated emails sent to job boards or LinkedIn.

In addition to participating in the recruitment process of new hires, AI can also help staffers find new positions within their company. Dennis says that employees can state the skills they have and ask the AI interface about other positions in the company that would fit them.

HR leaders can also use AI to assist team members who may want to change their position to something else but don't know how. AI can identify areas where skills need to be sharpened or new ones added to meet the employee's objectives.

In the onboarding process, AI can reach out to new hires and walk them through the paperwork process to get into the company's system. New hires would receive AI-generated emails about the paperwork, even helping them complete it. AI could also answer frequently asked questions, drawing information from the company handbook or policies.

More exciting, Dennis says, is that an AI assistant can help new employees choose the best company benefits plan to enroll in. For example, an employee might answer questions about, say, their financial goals, personal responsibilities, family situation, and long-range plans. With that data, AI could suggest the company plan that best suits their situation — just as a human HR benefits manager would.

Learning and development initiatives are key to retaining employees, Dennis says. With AI, HR leaders can submit a prompt to have AI write and develop a course to fulfill it, drawn from previous courses in its database, from public sources, or from the company's own internal documentation. "It's going to come up with that course probably in lightning quick time," Dennis said.

Creating and maintaining a corporate culture that appeals to employees can improve retention rates. By handling the never-ending administrative paperwork to meet compliance issues, Dennis says, AI can give HR managers the time to focus on big picture issues. For example, more time would be available to devote to DE&I initiatives, employee resource groups, or other high interest topics.

"AI is one of those big things that's going to end up being a tool for HR departments to use and [let] you focus on retaining and developing your current workforce," Dennis said.

—Robert Lerose, special to CNBC.com

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