AI agents are smart tools that can work together to automate complex workflows for Human Resources (HR) departments, including recruiting, onboarding, employee support, and internal communications. At TSL Tech Research, we wanted to know where HR departments are on their agentic AI journey.
We surveyed almost 150 HR Directors at companies with between 500 and 5,000 employees to find out. Our results show that many HR departments are in the early stages of AI agent adoption.
After defining AI agents, TSL Tech Research asked HR Directors at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) where their organization currently was in the adoption of AI agents for HR purposes. Approximately 30% of the 147 respondents answered the question, but the results are telling.
The responses were as follows:
Key Takeaways:
While over 50% of the SMBs surveyed are not currently considering the use of AI agents for HR, almost half of them are in the early stages of adoption. Over a quarter of the respondents indicated that they were exploring an initial use case, the first step in starting the adoption journey. Almost 20% are either planning a pilot within 12 months or have already implemented AI-powered agents for HR.
These findings, combined with the information that 6% of HR departments at SMBs are actively piloting AI agents, reveal a trend toward the adoption of agentic AI. Successful pilot programs will likely lead to AI agent adoption and exploration of more use cases.
With nearly 50% of HR departments starting their journey toward agentic AI, IT service firms have a great opportunity to win over new customers. As SMBs explore initial use cases and start pilot programs for AI-powered automation, they need guidance from experts in agentic AI.
Managed service providers (MSPs) that specialize in agentic AI, have certified expertise in leading agentic AI solutions, and work with SMBs, can take advantage of a growing market as HR departments begin their adoption journey and want to progress further.
As advantageous as adopting AI agents can be, SMBs are wise not to rush into adoption. Before implementing AI agents, HR departments need to identify use cases and evaluate their feasibility. SMBs also need to assess their AI readiness to ensure that their projects will be successful.
Pilot programs are a great way to establish a Proof of Concept (POC) for AI agents and win stakeholder approval. Once the value and feasibility of AI agents is proven, HR departments and their companies can feel confident in trying out more use cases to scale their automation program.
HR departments at SMBs that want to adopt AI agents need help finding the right IT service partners to work with. At TSL Tech Research we conduct online surveys to uncover insights that we can use to match SMBs with the ideal partner to meet their needs, including services for identifying AI automation opportunities and developing the necessary AI agents.
We also help IT service providers develop and run their own surveys to better understand how SMBs use technology.
Whether you are a company looking for a managed services provider (MSP) or an IT services firm hoping to win customers, TSL Tech Research can help. Find out more by visiting our website.