Only eight per cent of HR leaders believe their managers possess the skills needed to use artificial intelligence effectively today, according to research from Gartner released at the company’s HR Symposium/Xpo conference in London.
The finding comes despite one in three HR leaders reporting their organisations expect higher performance from employees when using AI, creating a significant gap between expectations and capability.
A July 2025 Gartner survey of 114 HR leaders revealed that 79 per cent believe HR should focus on enabling and motivating employees to leverage technology in ways that promote organisational growth. However, only 14 per cent of organisations provide support to managers on how to integrate generative AI into their daily tasks, according to an August 2025 Gartner survey of the same size.
Carolina Engels, senior principal, advisory, in the Gartner HR practice, outlined the potential benefits of properly implemented AI-augmented management: “When deployed correctly, AI-augmented management – automating routine tasks that don’t require human input and supporting day-to-day management decisions with timely, AI-driven insights – enables managers to focus on being more strategic, human-centric, and impactful.”
Gartner recommends chief human resources officers take four key actions to help managers better utilise AI: set guardrails before scaling, co-design evolving roles, prioritise human-centric leadership, and curate specific learning paths.
Setting guardrails requires CHROs to partner with legal and risk colleagues to create direct guidelines for AI use, define ethical use, data boundaries and approval processes for AI tools before employees can effectively reap performance benefits.
Co-designing evolving roles involves CHROs working directly with managers to uncover which tasks are best suited for automation, such as reviewing data aggregation, drafting performance reviews or providing employees with real-time feedback on client deliverables.
The human-centric leadership approach focuses on identifying where AI can support the human element of work, such as providing managers with insights to coach more effectively or creating working groups where managers can discuss pain points and share where they need AI support.
Engels stated: “By focusing on human-centric leadership, CHROs can help managers effectively communicate AI-driven insights to their teams.” This approach lays the foundation for creating a positive employee experience with AI.
Learning paths should include hands-on learning, internal guidance and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, combining digital fluency with essential leadership skills and robust role-specific AI onboarding.
Engels added that whilst AI should not replace managers, it can empower them to spend more meaningful time with their direct reports as the manager role shifts from managing information and decisions to coordinating insights and predicting employee needs.
