OPM launches AI tool to help agencies write federal position descriptions

OPM Releases Free AI Tool for Federal Job Descriptions

The Office of Personnel Management has made USA Class available to federal agencies this month. The tool generates draft position descriptions for federal jobs using AI trained on thousands of existing job postings across government.

Agencies using USA Staffing can access the tool at no cost. OPM Director Scott Kupor described it as "the opening move in OPM's broader push to bring federal HR information technology into the modern era of artificial intelligence."

How the tool works

Hiring managers answer natural language prompts about job responsibilities, required skills, and other role details. The AI then produces a draft position description aligned with OPM's federal classification standards.

Managers and classifiers can refine the output before finalizing it. Kupor said the tool "generates correct ones" - each factor level and description is accurate and compliant with OPM standards.

The goal: faster hiring, less rework

Position descriptions are the first step in federal hiring. The tool aims to reduce back-and-forth between managers and classifiers, shortening timelines and cutting unnecessary revision cycles.

OPM trained the initial model on thousands of manually created position descriptions from federal hiring managers over the years. The model will continue to improve as new users create additional descriptions.

Kupor said the agency is using AI "to streamline the tasks for which computers are very capable and free up time for HR professionals and hiring managers to focus on the people-facing aspects of recruiting and assessing candidates."

For hiring managers and HR professionals, understanding how to work effectively with prompt engineering techniques will help maximize the tool's capabilities.