Only 5% of chief human resources officers expect at least half of HR work to be AI-enabled within three years, a global survey from Protiviti found. The number exposes a widening C-suite divide: while most executives anticipate AI will quickly boost revenue and cut costs, CHROs consistently report lower confidence that their organizations are ready for the workforce changes AI demands.
The fifth Protiviti AI Pulse Survey, conducted in April 2026, gathered responses from nearly 800 executives worldwide, more than 80% of them in the C-suite. The report, "The AI-People Conundrum: Learning to Lead, Not Lag," examines how companies are preparing their business and workforce for the next phase of AI transformation. Across almost every measure of readiness, CHROs were the most cautious group in the executive suite.
HR leaders see a workforce readiness gap
Senior leaders overall expressed strong confidence in workforce AI readiness, but CHROs broke from the pack. Only 13% of CHROs strongly agreed their organization's job designs are AI-ready, compared with 28% across the full C-suite. As AI compresses work into fewer, higher-impact roles, CHROs have a wider view of the complexity involved in redesigning positions, compensation and career paths.
On learning capabilities, the gap was even larger. Just 14% of CHROs strongly agreed their organization's learning functions are AI-ready, versus 36% of all executives. IT leaders were the most confident, with 96% positive on learning readiness and 88% positive on role design readiness. Looking further ahead, 82% of CHROs said they expect a human-plus-digital workforce by 2030, compared to 93% of most other C-suite leaders.
Business leaders expect faster AI adoption elsewhere
While most executives see AI becoming a powerful business driver within three years, CHROs are markedly more cautious about how quickly their own function will change. About 60% of CHROs expect less than one-quarter of HR work to be AI-enabled over that period, even though more than 80% of HR activities are well suited for automation. This caution stands in contrast to expectations for other functions. In IT, 88% of respondents expect more than 25% of work to be AI-enabled within three years, up from 57% today. In finance, the figure jumps to 72% from 23%; in supply chain, to 66% from 33%; and in audit, to 56% from 20%. For HR, expectations rise to 50%, but that still leaves the function trailing behind.
The survey also found that CHROs are the only C-suite leaders who do not rank business value capture as AI's primary objective by 2029. This does not signal skepticism toward AI itself, the report suggests, but a more pragmatic view on the scale of workforce change required to make AI pay off.
AI transformation depends on workforce transformation
Fran Maxwell, global leader for People & Change at Protiviti, said the findings point to a disconnect. "Most leaders are focused on the value AI can deliver for the business. HR leaders are focused on whether their organizations and people are actually ready to deliver it. AI can create tremendous business value, but only if organizations invest appropriately in the non-technical aspects of AI transformation, including people enablement, operating model redesign, and process redesign."
Maxwell added that treating workforce transformation as a strategic priority alongside technology transformation is what will separate successful AI adopters from the rest. "That starts with HR playing a leading role in shaping the roles, skills and organizational changes required to turn AI investments into business value."
Why this matters for HR leaders
CHROs are not resisting AI. They are flagging a readiness gap that other executives may be underestimating. The survey data shows that job design, learning infrastructure and role evolution are moving slower than AI deployment timelines would require. For HR leaders, the immediate task is to close that gap by driving operating model and process redesign, building new learning pathways, and preparing the organization for blended human-digital teams. Resources like the AI Learning Path for CHROs can help build the strategic and analytical skills needed to lead that shift. The 5% figure is a warning: without HR's full involvement, AI value capture will stall at the organizational level, not the technical one.
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