What HR leaders need to know about AI agents

Have you noticed how often AI comes up in conversations about the future of work? It’s no longer just hype. AI agents are already shaping how organisations operate, and HR is one of the functions most likely to feel the impact. The question is not if they will change how you work, but how quickly!

The numbers paint a clear picture. A PwC survey of senior executives found that 88% plan to increase AI-related budgets in the next year because of agentic AI. Already, 79% say their organisations are adopting AI agents, and 66% report measurable value, particularly in productivity gains.

For HR, the signals are just as strong. In a May 2025 Gartner webinar, 44% of HR leaders said they plan to introduce semiautonomous AI agents in the next 12 months. Only 2% expect to deploy fully autonomous agents to replace staff, but two-thirds already trust that AI agents can improve the employee experience.

Put simply, AI agents are moving fast from theory to practice. If you are leading HR, now is the time to understand what they are, what they can do, and how to use them responsibly to support your people.

What are AI agents?

Think of an AI agent like a smart assistant inside your systems that can take instructions, plan how to do work, and act quite independently while you oversee it. McKinsey describes an AI agent as software that has the ability to act on behalf of a user or system to perform tasks that would normally need a lot of human oversight.

Unlike traditional automation, which only follows rigid instructions, agents can plan, adapt, and use context to decide the best way to complete the job.

In practice, this means an AI agent can:

• Understand the task or goal you set
• Break it into smaller steps and choose how to approach them
• Execute the work while adjusting if new information comes up
• Draw on knowledge, memory, or external tools to get better results
• Work autonomously but still within human oversight and guardrails

A useful analogy is to think of an AI agent as a project manager who not only organises the work but also gets involved in doing it. They may not replace the team, but they make sure everything moves forward efficiently.

Why AI agents matter for HR

AI agents are not just another piece of technology to add to the stack (and let’s be honest, you already have plenty of tools competing for attention!). AI agents can directly address some of the biggest challenges HR leaders face: limited time, growing administrative demands, and rising expectations from employees.

The value shows up in several ways:

• Efficiency and time saving
  Agents can handle repetitive, low-value tasks such as checking documents or answering policy questions. This frees HR teams to focus on work that really benefits people, like building culture or shaping talent strategy.
• ‍Consistency and reduced errors
  Unlike manual processes that can vary depending on who handles them, agents follow the same rules every time. This creates a fairer, more reliable experience for employees.
• Faster responses and better employee experience
  Whether it is a new hire waiting for their contract to be validated or an employee asking about leave policies, agents can deliver answers instantly and at any time. That availability is especially useful for global employees working across time zones. It reduces frustration, shows that the organisation values their time, and saves you from receiving questions at three in the morning.
• Insights from structured data
  Because agents can return structured outputs rather than just free text, they create new opportunities to track trends. For example, you can see what questions employees ask most often or identify where bottlenecks appear in the hiring process.

For HR leaders, the case for AI agents is not about replacing people but about giving teams the capacity to deliver more impact. They make the routine smoother so HR can spend more time shaping strategy, supporting managers, and improving the employee journey.

How AI agents work in practice

The best way to understand the potential of AI agents is to look at where they can slot directly into HR processes. Here are a few examples that bring the concept to life:

• CV screening
  Agents can review applications against role criteria and highlight the strongest matches. This speeds up shortlisting and helps HR teams focus on meaningful interviews rather than repetitive filtering.
• Document validation
  From passports to professional certificates, agents can check documents for completeness and compliance. That reduces errors and makes onboarding smoother.
• Policy questions
  Employees often ask about leave entitlements, benefits, or internal procedures. Agents can answer instantly using the organisation’s knowledge base, ensuring accuracy and freeing HR staff from constant FAQ duty.
• Complaints and queries
  When employees raise issues, agents can classify and route them to the right team, while flagging urgent ones. That makes responses faster and avoids tickets being lost in the shuffle.
• Career development support
  Agents can suggest internal training, learning paths, or new roles employees might be suited for. That shows investment in people and supports retention.

These examples show that AI agents are not abstract concepts. They are already capable of making HR work more efficient, more consistent, and more people centred.

AI agents within 50skills

So what does this look like in practice if you’re not technical? In 50skills, AI agents are part of the platform and can be added to a process without any coding. You simply choose where you want them to help and drop them into the workflow.

To make it even easier, you can start with an AI agent template. Think of this like choosing a form or policy template. It gives you a ready-made setup that you can adjust to match your own policies and processes.

Once you have picked a template, you can:

• Upload knowledge files such as contracts, policies, or compliance documents so the AI agent uses the right information.
• Add instructions and prompts that guide the AI agent on how to respond to employees.
• Set up structured outputs so answers come back in a clear format you can use straight away.
• Place the AI agent at key points in a workflow, such as onboarding, recruitment, or employee queries.

This combination of built-in access and easy-to-use templates means HR leaders can get started quickly without technical skills, while still having the flexibility to shape the agent around their organisation’s needs.

Before we dive into the opportunities and challenges, here is a short video explainer that shows how AI agents work in 50skills and the difference they can make for HR teams.
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Opportunities and challenges

Like any new technology, AI agents bring both advantages and things to watch out for. For HR leaders, being aware of both sides helps you set realistic expectations.

Opportunities

• Free up HR teams from repetitive work so they can focus on strategy and people.
• Ensure consistent application of policies, reducing the risk of errors or bias.
• Provide faster, 24/7 support to employees, especially in global organisations.
• Generate structured data that gives new insights into employee needs and process bottlenecks.

Challenges

• AI agents are only as good as the knowledge they are given. Out of date or incomplete policies will lead to poor answers.
• HR leaders must balance transparency and trust, making sure employees know when they are interacting with an AI.
• Sensitive data requires strong security and compliance safeguards.
• Teams may resist change if they do not understand how the technology works or how it benefits them.

By keeping these opportunities and challenges in mind, you can make more informed decisions about how to introduce AI agents in a way that supports both your HR team and your employees.

Best practices for HR leaders

If you’re considering introducing AI agents, there are a few steps that make adoption smoother and more effective:

• Start small
  Begin with one or two simple use cases, such as answering policy FAQs or checking standard documents. This gives you early wins and helps your team build confidence.
• Keep knowledge up to date
  Regularly review and update the files and policies that agents rely on. Accurate knowledge is the foundation of useful answers.
• Set clear success measures
  Decide in advance how you will track the impact, whether that is time saved, fewer errors, or improved employee satisfaction.
• Involve the right people
  Bring in HR, IT, compliance, and even employee representatives early so you build trust and avoid surprises.
• Maintain human oversight
  Agents should handle the routine, but people must stay in control of complex or sensitive decisions. Make sure there are clear escalation routes.
• Test thoroughly
  Run pilots before going live. Use real examples to see how the AI agent performs and fix any issues before rolling it out more widely.

These best practices help HR leaders balance the efficiency of AI with the trust and care employees expect.

What’s next

AI agents are moving quickly from theory into everyday HR practice. The organisations that benefit most will be those that act early, experiment with simple use cases, and scale as they build trust.

If you want to see what this looks like in action, our help centre includes a step by step guide on how to set up an AI agent.

For a closer look at how this could work in your own organisation, book a demo. This way, you can see exactly how AI agents can fit into your HR processes and start delivering value straight away.