AI for HR: how to leverage this technology 

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how businesses operate – HR included. From hiring to workforce planning, AI is helping HR teams save time, reduce costs, and make more informed decisions. As one of Europe’s leading digital staffing platforms, we share practical ways HR professionals can integrate AI into their daily operations. 

Tony Macklin, Chief Product Officer at Coople, comments: 

“I love the Sam Altman quote, ‘AI won’t take your job; someone who knows how to use AI will.’ HR leaders who treat prompt-engineering as a core competency – who train themselves to ask sharper questions, test assumptions and iterate on the answers – will unlock far more value than those who simply bolt an algorithm onto yesterday’s processes. AI isn’t a piece of kit you install; it’s a mindset of curiosity and continuous refinement, and the teams that embrace that mentality will write the next chapter of our profession. 

“If you haven’t tried Manus or OpenAI’s deep research feature yet, picture an AI research analyst that can break a brief into dozens of micro-tasks, roam public labour-market data and hand you back a polished report – charts, citations, the lot – in minutes. Suddenly every HR pro has a tireless desk-mate who never needs coffee.” 

Tips for hiring 

• Generative AI can help speed up writing job adverts, especially if your company has already got a bank of previous job adverts that can be used to train the AI on.  
• Companies have been using ATS or applicant tracking systems for years, which scan CVs to see how well they match the job description. With the recent advances in AI, this software has become more powerful, judging candidates based on their use of synonyms for the key skills and attributes you’re looking for, rather than just searching for specific keywords.  

 
Tips for learning and development  

• AI tools can identify skill gaps within your organization, by quickly comparing your employees’ skills and levels of expertise. Then, these tools can use this information to recommend further training or identify candidates who could benefit from upskilling.  
• These tools also help HR leaders identify skill gaps across departments by comparing existing employee data. Once gaps are detected, AI can suggest targeted development plans or flag potential internal candidates for new roles. 

Tips for ongoing workforce management and analytics 

• HR teams can use AI to generate on-demand reports and trend analyses – including average tenure, absenteeism rates, or seasonal staffing patterns. This can support more accurate forecasting and more proactive workforce planning. 
• AI chatbots can answer questions from employees about company policy and processes, freeing up time for HR staff. The chatbot becomes an interactive company handbook, helping all permanent and temporary employees get answers to their queries quickly.  
• When it comes to tracking how well team members are meeting their KPIs and OKRs, AI tools might be able to help with advanced performance tracking. This can help you make sure that all your team members are meeting their objectives (and on track to receive any bonuses that might come with them).  

How staffing might look in the future with widespread AI use 

• As AI technology continues to advance, we might see onboarding become even more personalised and bespoke, with new employees automatically being sent the most relevant material to their roles.  
• HR staff might benefit from upskilling in AI to make sure that they are able to leverage these tools to save themselves time, and make sure that their organisations are ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting this technology.  
• Companies will need to make sure they stay on top of labour laws to make sure that their use of AI is compliant. The EU AI Act was brought in last year to regulate the use of AI, and while no such act is currently in use in the UK, it could be that the government follows suit and introduces something similar in the years to come.