AI has been discussed as a future innovation for years, but that future is already here. Today’s HCM platforms are actively using AI to improve recruiting, onboarding, workforce insights, and employee support. The real challenge is not adoption, but realistic and responsible use. When applied correctly, AI removes friction, improves accuracy, and gives HR teams time back to focus on people, not processes.

As HRIS technology heads into 2026, the market is no longer defined by new features, but by consequences. AI governance, skills volatility, and vendor consolidation are reshaping how HR leaders make platform decisions. In this post, Richard des Moulins shares six predictions grounded in what organizations are actually funding, implementing, and struggling to operationalize.

Over the past year, conversations about AI in the workplace have focused heavily on people. Will jobs disappear? Will teams shrink? While these questions draw attention, they overlook where the most meaningful change is actually happening. AI is reshaping HR not by replacing roles, but by transforming the systems HR teams use every day. HR work remains human, relational, and judgment-driven. The quiet shift is happening inside the technology that supports it.