When you read reports from leading firms on artificial intelligence, you might think that the transformation is mainly happening on the technology, model, or platform side. However, when you take a step back, you realize that AI is not only transforming tools, it is also putting pressure on the way work is organized (Adoption and impact of AI: lessons (and limitations) from the latest McKinsey and BCG studies). And in this area, the HR function is no longer a peripheral player. On the contrary, it is at the center of the game.
The figures are now well known. AI is widely deployed, but the real value remains concentrated in the hands of a minority of organizations. This discrepancy cannot be explained by the power of the models or the maturity of the technology, but by the ability, or lack thereof, to transform the work itself. However, transforming work is not an IT issue, but an HR issue.
In short:
- The transformation brought about by AI is not limited to technology but also affects the organization of work.
- The HR function now plays a central role in the adoption and impact of AI.
- The value generated by AI remains concentrated in a minority of organizations.
- The performance gap cannot be explained by technology alone, but rather by the ability to rethink work.
- Transforming work is a challenge for human resources, not just IT.
From job description to actual work: a necessary shift in focus
Most organizations continue to think about work in terms of job descriptions, job references, and organizational charts. This framework works as long as tasks are relatively stable and well-defined, but AI is breaking this logic.
With cognitive automation, intelligent assistance, and, in the future, agents, tasks are being redefined. Some are disappearing, others are becoming more concentrated, and still others are changing in nature. What was previously divided among several roles can now be performed by a system, while human work is shifting toward arbitration, interpretation, relationships, or exception management. This is precisely why, contrary to all expectations, some businesses are rehiring after laying off (Employers Regret AI Layoffs And Rush To Rehire Former Talent).
In this context, continuing to think in terms of fixed “jobs” no longer makes much sense. The HR function must shift its focus to the reality of work: what is done, how, with what dependencies, what decisions, what frictions. This is where the ability to integrate AI productively will be decided.
The reconfiguration of roles is not a side effect but the heart of the matter
One of the blind spots in the discourse on AI is the question of intermediate roles. Support functions, analysts, local managers, and business experts are directly exposed to a profound redefinition of their activities. Not because they are replaceable, but because the granularity of their work is changing.
AI can take over entire sequences of tasks that were previously scattered, forcing us to redefine what still falls under human responsibility. This means clarifying what remains of judgment, responsibility, and decision-making, and what becomes preparation, simulation, or automated recommendation.
For the HR function, this means anticipating these transformations rather than suffering them. It is not a question of eliminating jobs, but of building credible, clear, and accepted career paths. When this reflection is absent, AI becomes a source of anxiety and resistance. On this point, I encourage you to look at what has been done (well) by certain businesses in the context of lean projects that are nevertheless very unpopular with employees: these businesses promised that the improvements would not lead to layoffs and that, while they could not protect all jobs, they would protect careers(Lean Without Layoffs: The Commitment That Makes Continuous Improvement Work and Is AI the new Lean?).
The emergence of hybrid roles still underestimated
Organizations that succeed in creating value with AI all have one thing in common: the emergence of hybrid roles at the intersection of business, technology, and organization. These roles are not necessarily new in absolute terms, but they are taking on new importance.
We are seeing the emergence of augmented workflow managers, agent supervisors, business data quality guarantors, AI product owners rooted in operations, and managers capable of steering hybrid human-AI systems. These roles do not fall exclusively within the remit of IT or business, but symbolize a new organizational grammar.
The HR function has a key role to play here: identifying these roles, structuring them, making them visible, and integrating them into career paths and recognition systems. Without this, these functions remain informal, carried out by a few isolated individuals, and the organization fails to capitalize on its learning.
AI skills are not a generic training topic
Another common misconception is to reduce skills development to general acculturation initiatives. Raising employee awareness of AI is necessary, but far from sufficient. Conversely, businesses that create value invest in operational skills that are directly rooted in workflows and work situations.
This means thinking in terms of job families, activity chains, and types of decisions. Key skills are not only technical but also relate to the ability to understand a process, interpret a recommendation, identify bias, and decide when to follow or challenge what AI produces.
For the HR function, this means building dynamic, scalable competency frameworks linked to actual use cases, rather than abstract catalogs. It’s a change in approach that brings HR closer to the operational front lines.
HRBP: from strategic partner to work architect
In this context, the role of HR Business Partners is set to evolve significantly. They can no longer be content with supporting strategy or managing social impacts after the fact. On the contrary, they are becoming key players in organizational design (HR is not the management’s fire department).
This requires mastering workflow logic, understanding the effects of AI on roles, anticipating tensions, and helping managers redefine their scope of action. Where HRBPs remain confined to a support role, AI transformation quickly runs into human and organizational roadblocks.
Managing social risk, not just technological adoption
Finally, AI poses a major challenge in terms of social management. There are significant differences in perception between managers and employees, the heterogeneity of individual uses creates differences in performance, recognition, and sometimes legitimacy, and the proliferation of unregulated tools and practices fuels cognitive overload and a feeling of loss of control.
The HR function must therefore play a regulatory role. It must help formulate the business’s intentions with AI (Taking back control of enterprise design: intention before tools), clarify expected uses, secure practices, make responsibilities explicit, and integrate AI into evaluation and recognition systems. Without this framework, AI risks becoming more of a risk than a performance lever.
Bottom Line
AI is transforming the HR function not because it is fashionable, but because it is structurally necessary. It affects work, roles, skills, and career paths, forcing HR to move away from a supporting role and take on a design responsibility. The organizations that will succeed are not those that have deployed the most tools, but those that have been able to redesign work in a coherent manner. In this equation, the HR function is not just one player among many, but must become central.
To answer your questions…
Although discussions about AI often focus on models and platforms, its main impact concerns work itself. AI is changing tasks, roles, and the way employees collaborate. It is creating tensions within existing organizations that cannot be resolved by technology alone. This transformation is primarily human and organizational, as it directly affects the way work is designed, distributed, and managed.
Most organizations have deployed AI tools, but few are deriving significant value from them. This gap is not due to the quality of the technologies used, but rather to the ability to transform work. Businesses that do not rethink their processes and operating methods remain stuck with a superficial use of AI, without any lasting gains.
Integrating AI is not just about adding new tools. It involves reviewing the distribution of tasks, responsibilities, and skills. These issues relate more to work organization than to information systems. Without adapting managerial and operational practices, AI remains underutilized, even with high-performance technology.
AI is challenging professions, skills, and ways of working. The HR function is therefore directly affected, as it oversees these areas. It plays a key role in supporting change, securing career paths, and supporting organizational transformation. Without strong involvement from HR, AI is unlikely to have a real impact.
Studies by major firms clearly show the extent of AI deployment, but they often emphasize the technological dimension. This approach can minimize the central role of work transformation. The main limitation therefore lies in the interpretation of the results, which sometimes underestimates the importance of human and organizational factors.
Image credit: Image generated by artificial intelligence via ChatGPT (OpenAI)
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