81% of CEOs drive AI decisions while HR trails at 12%, study reveals

HR is being left out of critical decisions on workplace artificial intelligence despite its central role in shaping the future of work, talent platform Beamery said in a report released on Tuesday. Only 30% of HR leaders said they were involved from the outset in AI strategy, compared with 60% of C-suite executives who believed HR had a seat at the table.

Beamery described HR as “often sidelined” in AI transformation efforts, even as companies accelerate automation and redesign work at scale.

Respondents to the survey ranked the CEO, digital transformation leads and CIOs as the top decision-makers on AI strategy, with 81%, 50% and 36% respectively naming them as primary influencers. By contrast, chief human resources officers received only 12%, putting them at the bottom of the leadership hierarchy on AI decisions.

Beamery warned that excluding HR risks weakening major transformation efforts. “If HR doesn’t get a seat at the table, workforce considerations, skill gaps, and employee engagement may not be fully accounted for in AI-driven transformation,” the report said.

What the Survey Found

For the report, Beamery surveyed more than 170 C-suite executives, 115 HR leaders and 200 early-career employees working at companies with more than 5,000 employees. The aim was to understand how organisations are redesigning work and deploying AI.

The findings show that HR leaders believe unclear role definitions are slowing adoption: more than a third of CHROs said there was insufficient visibility into what employees do day to day, making it harder to identify tasks suitable for automation.

Across the C-suite, executives cited three major barriers to workplace automation: choosing the right tasks to automate, ensuring the quality and availability of data and gaining employee trust to overcome pushback.

Employee Optimism — and Anxiety

Despite concerns about role clarity and workforce planning, early-career employees expressed strong optimism about AI. Beamery said most younger workers viewed AI as “a launchpad, not a threat”. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said AI made them more likely to stay with their employer, largely because the technology was creating growth opportunities and fuelling engagement through new skills and career paths.

A smaller group said they were staying due to fear — either of becoming the “last-in, first-out AI layoff” at a new employer or because AI had made job searches more difficult.

Separate research underscores this tension. Deloitte leaders wrote earlier this year that CHROs will be central to maintaining employee buy-in and linking AI initiatives to business goals. Yet an October study by Express Employment Professionals and Harris Poll found that while nearly three-quarters of hiring managers said their companies had adopted AI, more than half said they lacked the resources to train employees to use it effectively. Job seekers were more pessimistic still, with almost two-thirds fearing AI would limit opportunities.

The findings reflect a widening disconnect: companies are racing to embed AI in core operations, but governance structures are not keeping pace. Beamery said that involving HR from day one can help ensure AI-driven decisions align with workforce needs, protect employee engagement and support reskilling.

For organisations, the challenge is not only deploying AI responsibly but ensuring the people who understand work, skills and culture are positioned to influence how that transformation unfolds.