Few trends are driving transformation in the HR space like artificial intelligence. Entering 2026, sources told HR Dive that the technology would increasingly be integrated into core HR processes, namely people management, beyond already routine applications such as screening resumes and providing shared services.
While the business world largely has come to accept AI as a force for change, what is far from uniform is HR leaders’ own belief in the ability of their departments to take advantage of the tech, let alone whether certain applications — like generative AI — have day-to-day utility, according to the results of a recent global Boston Consulting Group survey.
The firm’s “Creating People Advantage” report, conducted in conjunction with the World Federation of People Management Associations, gathered responses from more than 7,000 HR and business leaders across 115 countries. BCG found that 70% of leaders used generative AI in some capacity, primarily for reporting, learning and recruiting.
Moreover, those leaders increasingly prioritized HR functions related to technology, as evidenced by respondent rankings taken as part of the 2023 and 2026 editions of the survey. Between these three years, respondents increasingly prioritized implementation of digital solutions and deployment of generative AI and other emerging tech.
Digital solutions, AI moved up CHROs’ list of priorities in the past 3 years
Position of select priority areas in BCG’s list of 28 future HR priorities, as measured by respondent rankings taken from surveys in 2023 and 2026
Conversely, the priority of other areas, such as employee engagement, rewards and recognition and flexible work policies declined.
BCG also observed a gap between the tech-adjacent priorities HR leaders said their departments were focused on and the confidence leaders had in their ability to fulfill those priorities. Just over one-third of respondents said their organizations had a “high” or “somewhat high” ranking of their capabilities in leadership development, upskilling and reskilling and strategic workforce planning, among other relevant areas.
Few leaders very confident in their organization’s future-critical HR capabilities
% of HR and business leaders who said they had a “high” or “somewhat high” rating of current capabilities for the following HR functions, identified by BCG as having a “strong need” for action
The firm identified eight such priorities as being “strong” needs for supporting digital transformation. Among this group of eight, generative AI and emerging technology deployment received the least “high” or “somewhat high” confidence rating from leaders.
Overall, BCG researchers wrote that a central theme of the report is that CHROs need to move faster on digital technology implementation, both within the HR function and across wider organizations.
This tension is embodied by generative AI, the researchers noted, which continues to divide HR leaders with respect to its potential utility and relevancy. Despite most respondents stating that they used generative AI in some capacity, only 38% said that the tech had “strong” or “high” relevance to their organizations, whereas 36% said it had “some” or “low relevance.”
HR leaders split on whether generative AI is relevant to their organizations
% of BCG respondents by classification of Gen AI’s relevance to their organization today
This sentiment has been reflected in other research on the topic, with an Avature survey of HR and talent professionals finding that 98% did not trust generative AI to make workforce decisions.
But this attitude also contrasts with that adopted by many CEOs. BCG specifically pointed to its past research which found that 94% of CEOs and other C-suite executives were so confident in AI’s potential that they would continue to invest in it even if those investments did not pay off in 2026. The same report found that 50% of CEOs believed that their job stability depended on “getting AI strategy right.”
“That CEO sentiment should be a call to HR leaders to further lean into the AI agenda of their organizations and define the people agenda to support it,” BCG researchers wrote.