Why HR and the C-suite butt heads about AI

In this edition of I'm Telling HR, we're talking about the corporate buzzword du jour: AI. If you feel like your C-suite is dropping references to artificial intelligence like it's going out of style, you may not be wrong — our State of HR report found that over 40% of S&P 500 earnings calls now mention AI. New drinking game: Take a sip every time the CEO says "machine learning." Actually, don't — you'd be under the table by Q&A.

For HR pros, AI isn't quite so ubiquitous. Sure, 40% of HR teams say they use AI for recruiting, but far fewer are automating their admin tasks, workforce analytics, self-service, and other busywork. And get this: 1 in 5 HR teams doesn't use AI at all. Why the disconnect between boardrooms and people teams? That's what we're exploring in this week's I'm Telling HR.

When will HR embrace our AI overlords?

By now, you've probably lost count of all the times your CEO or another exec has said something along the lines of, "AI will change everything."

Fun fact: More than 40% of S&P 500 earnings calls these days mention AI. The C-suite is increasingly going all-in on artificial intelligence — but meanwhile, down here in the People trenches, many HR teams are giving AI a hard side-eye (or at least only using it in limited ways). According to Rippling's State of HR report, 40% of HR pros say they use AI to assist with recruiting and talent (think resume screening, chatbots for candidate Q&As, etc.). But beyond hiring? The drop-off is real:

• Administrative automation: Only 29% are using AI to streamline admin tasks. Apparently, a lot of us are still doing things the hard way.

• Analytics: 36% use AI or machine learning for people analytics. The rest might still be wrestling with spreadsheets at midnight 📊.

• Employee self-service: 33% use AI for self-service HR portals or answering employee FAQs.

• No AI at all: And yep, 20% of HR pros admit they're not using any AI in their HR work right now.

That's a pretty stark contrast to the boardroom hype. Here's the uncomfortable truth: For as much as AI seems to be everywhere, many HR departments still aren't feeling the AI revolution on the ground. We're still bogged down in manual paperwork, repetitive onboarding tasks, and answering the same policy questions on repeat. The fancy AI tools that do get adopted tend to live in recruiting, while other HR functions are basically stuck in 2015.

What's behind this gap? A few things, in my humble opinion.

1️⃣ First, hype fatigue is real. HR has seen fads come and go — remember when "ping-pong tables = great culture" was a thing? Many HR pros are understandably skeptical about shiny new tools that might create more work or compliance risks.

2️⃣ Second, not all HR teams have the budget or know-how to implement AI outside of hiring. Recruiting gets a lot of the AI love right now because virtually all ATS vendors bake it into their platforms (hello, automated resume screening). But for tasks like advanced HR analytics or employee self-service, you often need new systems or data chops that your HR might not have in-house. And while some of us are still trying to get last year's HRIS upgrade to actually work correctly, diving into AI can just feel like a moonshot to teams who are underwater with their day-to-day tasks.

3️⃣ Finally, there's a bit of "AI can't do my job" skepticism. We in HR deal with humans — messy, emotional, unpredictable humans. Can a chatbot really onboard a new hire as warmly as a person? Can an algorithm understand why Tom from finance is always late on Mondays? Some HR folks worry that AI is more of a gimmick than a game-changer — or worse, that it could screw things up with bias or errors that we'll have to clean up.

So how do we start bridging the AI gap without becoming prompt engineers overnight? Here's my advice: Start small and practical. Look for just one annoying, time-consuming task on your plate and ask, "Could AI or automation do this for me?"

Maybe it's scheduling interviews, answering basic PTO policy questions, or compiling a monthly report that your boss always asks for. You don't need any special training for this — many HR tools now have user-friendly AI features built-in. For example, you might already have a chatbot in your HRIS that you've never turned on, or a report builder that can generate trends and insights in a click or two. Give it a try! Also, consider partnering up with your org's IT team so you can pick their brain on simple automations or integrations that could save you hours.

The key is to align any AI experiment with an actual pain point you have. That way, if your CFO asks, "So what is HR doing with AI?" you can point to a real efficiency win (instead of awkwardly shrugging your shoulders). And when the stakeholders way up at the top start saying things like, "We should do more with AI in HR," you'll have some credibility as someone who's already rolling up their sleeves — and saving your team time and effort with the latest tools. Remember, you don't have to implement everything overnight. Incremental progress is still progress.

For a deeper dive into HR's current love-hate relationship with AI, be sure to check out the full State of HR report. Trust me, you'll want to see how your own team stacks up against the stats.

Less grind, more automation

When your company makes first-of-its-kind, totally groundbreaking "solar electric vehicles," HR paperwork feels especially prehistoric. That's exactly where Aptera found itself, with 50,000 eager pre-orders for futuristic cars, while Sarah Cravens, the company's Head of Employee Experience and one-woman HR powerhouse, drowned in payroll, compliance, and onboarding chaos.

Initially, Aptera outsourced HR to a PEO, but instead of relief, Sarah got red tape — and lots of it.

"It didn't work for us," she said. "It had too much control over how we did things… Our hands were tied, limiting our options to make business-related decisions."

Bringing HR back in-house was equally daunting — Sarah had lived through late nights of payroll panic and compliance whack-a-mole in previous roles. So instead of hiring a whole HR department (not an option for a scrappy start-up), Sarah automated the org's HR tasks with Rippling.

Suddenly, Aptera's HR function became nearly effortless. Payroll that used to devour 20 painful hours each month now takes minutes. New hires are instantly and automatically set up with the right taxes and forms. And mandatory trainings? Scheduled and sent based on where employees live — all without Sarah lifting a finger. It's like she cloned herself (twice over) without the extra salaries.

The numbers are impressive, too. Aptera saved around $225,000 annually in headcount and legal fees. But the real win? Sarah regained time to focus on culture, growth, and making Aptera a great place to work.

"People who have actually done HR work created Rippling's solutions," she said. "You can feel it because it automatically solves everyday problems that I've had to handle manually or outside of any other system that I've used."

Read more about how Aptera used automation to transform HR from a heap of busywork to the company's driver for excellent employee experience.

Ask I'm Telling HR

Q: Our CEO just forwarded me an article about ChatGPT and said, "Can we use this for onboarding?" 😳 I have no idea what to do with that! Help!

A: First, take a deep breath (and maybe a sip of coffee). Your CEO read a headline about ChatGPT revolutionizing something (or maybe has played around with this admittedly very fun tool), and is now wondering why your organization isn't riding that hype train. Here's how to handle it:

Step 1: Validate their excitement, but set expectations. Thank the CEO for sharing the article. Something like, "Great insight — AI is definitely changing things in HR. I've been looking into ways we might use it." Now you're on the same team, not raining on the parade.

Step 2: Do some digging to figure out what part of onboarding they're envisioning for ChatGPT. New hire FAQs? Training content? Get the gist of where an AI like ChatGPT could fit into your onboarding workflow — whether it's just for internal use, like drafting welcome emails, or candidate facing, like creating an interactive FAQ for new hires — both doable starting points.

Step 3: Suggest a small experiment — CEOs love action. Propose a pilot, such as, "How about we test ChatGPT for one piece of onboarding — say, an HR chatbot that answers common new hire questions — and see how it goes?" This shows you're taking the idea seriously and being prudent. You're basically saying, "Yes, and… let's be smart about it."

Step 4: Educate (gently). If your C-suite thinks AI is a magic bullet, you may need to sprinkle in some reality. Explain its limitations and risks — for example, it can repeat what it's learned, but it still needs us to fact-check important information, especially when compliance is on the line. Emphasize that AI is a tool, not an HR replacement. No, it can't conduct orientation sessions or fill out I-9s for you (at least not yet!). Keep your tone upbeat ("I'm excited to try this — who doesn't want to save time and make onboarding easier? I'll report back on what I learn."). This way, you'll come across as an innovative, solutions-oriented HR pro who "gets it," and with some luck, you'll end up with some AI-driven wins to impress your boss. Good luck!