Gartner HR practice VP  Dion Love said: “More than half of HR leaders surveyed by Gartner said they are currently exploring how they can use generative AI with nothing in place yet. Only 14 per cent of HR leaders are not planning to use generative AI in the near-term.”

HR leaders responding to the Gartner survey said that HR operations – administrative tasks, policies, document generation – and recruiting, including job descriptions, are the most prioritized use cases within their organizations currently.

Gartner thinks that progressive organisations will begin to broaden how they use generative AI in such things as personalised career development plans.

Gartner’s survey revealed that of the 167 HR leaders who responded, more than 60 per cent are participating in enterprise-wide discussions around their organisation’s use of generative AI. More than 58 per cent of HR leaders reported that they are collaborating with IT leaders and 45 per cent are collaborating with their organisation’s legal and compliance function to explore the potential use cases.

HR expects to take a leading role in the evolution of generative AI; 35 per cent of the 133 HR leaders who responded to Gartner’s survey expect to lead their organization’s enterprise-wide AI ethics approach, Gartner said.

Among 177 HR leaders surveyed, 84  per cent believe that generative AI will make existing HR activities more productive, while two-thirds think generative AI will eliminate redundant activities within the function.

“Our survey revealed that most HR leaders expect a decrease in headcount within the HR function once generative AI is implemented due to the increased efficiency,” said Love.