What are the do’s and don’ts of AI in HR? Deel charted out the boundaries

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What’s safe to automate? What isn’t safe to automate? And how can HR leaders set boundaries between human oversight and AI usage?

These are the kinds of questions HR is asking lately. So in partnership with Deel, we set out to get some answers.

Here’s what we found.

What’s safe to automate

The most common entry point for AI is HR in recruitment. In fact, a SHRM report found that 64% of organizations already use AI for recruitment, interviewing, or hiring.

You can see this on Deel’s platform in tools like their employee costs calculator, which determines the cost of hiring, and their salary insights tool that provides visibility into global market rates. Both of these are AI-powered and designed to make it easier to budget for hiring and establish financial benchmarks for salary negotiations.

Another area of potential for AI in HR? Learning and development. This is the second-most-common area where HR teams leverage AI, with 45% already using AI to generate learning materials. On top of that, AI can customize learning experiences to individual needs (think language and accessibility) and automate backend tasks like scheduling, tracking completion, and reporting outcomes.

Finally, there’s big potential in payroll. After all, this is one of the most complex and error-prone areas of HR (especially global HR). AI can help by automating payroll calculations, flagging inconsistencies or errors, and highlighting upcoming deadlines or regulatory changes.

What needs human oversight

As many folks have already learned, AI sometimes struggles with context. It can lean heavily on patterns in biased data. So while it can help lighten the prep work, consolidate feedback, or flag inaccurate data, high-stakes decisions still require human involvement.

It’s also important for HR leaders to have visibility into the data or logic behind AI-generated answers. That starts by adopting AI systems that are transparent about where information comes from and how it’s being used.

This is the same logic behind Deel’s Knowledge Hub. It contains legal, HR, and financial data that AI is trained on to give leaders a clear sense of what responses are informed by.

It’s worth developing habits around documenting AI usage so that you can trace your steps back to your decision logic. Folks tend to move faster when they’re using AI, so having a reliable info trail can help prevent panic-searching through your chat history to explain a decision.

Finding a balance

If you’re interested in more specific details on how AI and humans can work together in HR, check out Deel’s guide on AI in global HR. It’s got a very helpful chart that outlines what AI can’t do and what AI shouldn’t do, complete with whys and examples that explain each point.

You can also see how Deel’s approach to AI is focused on operational impact. And that vision helps thousands of global teams simplify hiring, payroll, compliance, and employee enablement. Deel’s COO Dan Westgarth summarized the platform’s outlook on AI and HR:

“As we look to the future, one principle guides us: The number of administrative tasks AI can take on will only continue to grow. And that’s a good thing. By freeing people from repetitive administrative tasks, we are empowering them to focus on what really matters: innovation, collaboration, and growth.”