Duke HR Launches AI Chatbot to Answer Employee Questions
Duke University's Human Resources department has deployed Ask CHRIS, an artificial intelligence chatbot built on Microsoft Copilot, to help employees navigate benefits, policies and work-related questions. The tool went live in its pilot phase and received over 900 queries in its first two weeks.
Ask CHRIS - short for Chat with HR Information Systems - aggregates information from the HR website and frequently asked questions into a single interface. Employees log in with their Duke NetID to access personalized responses based on their department and tenure.
The chatbot emerged from Duke's broader institutional push on AI. In spring, the university's AI steering committee called for developing a "unified institutional identity" around the technology. Duke has already granted undergraduates free access to ChatGPT-4o, launched the DukeGPT chatbot and begun construction on a data center for research.
Designed to Free Up HR Staff
Antwan Lofton, vice president of human resources and chief human resources officer, said the tool addresses a practical problem: employees spend five to ten minutes navigating the HR website to find answers.
Ask CHRIS differs from general-purpose chatbots by combining policy information with employee-specific data. If an employee asks about benefit accrual, the tool can apply general policy rules to their individual circumstances - something a generic search tool cannot do.
HR leadership framed the chatbot as an addition to existing services, not a replacement. Paul Grantham, assistant vice president for work culture and communication services, said it frees HR staff from handling routine "transactional questions" so they can focus on mentoring, consulting and providing guidance.
Privacy Safeguards and Current Limitations
The chatbot does not have access to sensitive employee data like salaries. Duke's agreement with Microsoft requires that information entered into the system does not enter the public domain.
Ask CHRIS operates within a narrow knowledge domain. It declines non-HR questions by saying it has "run into a restriction." This differs sharply from DukeGPT, which answers questions on politics, writing and other broad topics.
The tool is still susceptible to hallucinations - instances where AI models generate false information. When asked to name eateries in the Brodhead Center, it returned some correct names alongside fictional ones like "Twisted Taco" and "La Creperie."
Feedback and Next Steps
Users can rate responses with thumbs-up or thumbs-down buttons. Only 2% of responses received negative feedback during the pilot period.
Grantham said a second phase would integrate Ask CHRIS with more university systems to handle complex queries, such as calculating remaining vacation days. The HR leadership team views the current version as preliminary.
"This is not the end of Ask CHRIS, this is just the beginning," Lofton said.
HR professionals managing similar technology implementations may find value in exploring AI for Human Resources training resources, which address deployment strategies and organizational change management specific to HR functions.
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