Workday debuts new Illuminate AI agents for HR, Finance and Industry and launches Flex Credits to speed adoption

Workday Illuminate adds AI agents for HR, Finance, and Industry - here's what matters for Finance

Workday announced new Illuminate agents purpose-built for HR, Finance, and industry workflows. The pitch is simple: embed AI directly into daily work and deliver measurable outcomes, not pilots that stall out. For finance leaders, the focus is faster close, deeper margin visibility, and continuous control testing.

What's new for Finance

Three new agents target the close, profitability analysis, and risk. The promise: fewer manual steps, more real-time checks, and faster cycles that free capacity for analysis and decision-making.

• Cost & Profitability Agent: Define allocation rules and drivers using natural language to speed modeling and sharpen margin insight.
• Financial Close Agent: Automates close steps and surfaces real-time status to streamline handoffs and shorten the timeline.
• Financial Test Agent: Continuously tests transactions and controls to detect anomalies, support compliance, and flag issues early.

Workday's broader agent portfolio already shows impact: Financial Audit Agent has saved early access customers up to 900 hours per year by automating evidence collection and reporting. Payroll Agent enables compliance up to 4x faster. Planning Agent has cut data exploration and analysis by 30% (about 100 hours per month) for early access customers.

HR agents that remove friction

Finance performance is tied to people operations. New HR agents aim to reduce admin work and improve talent signals that feed planning and forecasting.

• Business Process Copilot Agent: Automates setup and configuration of new HR processes.
• Case Agent: Automates routine case activity to speed resolution and improve employee experience.
• Document Intelligence for Contingent Labor Agent: Speeds SOW creation, tracks obligations, and aligns contracts to reduce risk.
• Employee Sentiment Agent: Analyzes feedback at scale to give leaders actionable insights.
• Job Architecture Agent: Automates job ladders for clearer roles and growth paths.
• Performance Agent: Analyzes enterprise performance data to streamline reviews and recommend actions.

Industry agents for specialized workflows

• Academic Requirements Agent: Automates creation of academic requirements to reduce implementation hours for higher education.
• Student Administration Agent: Automates repetitive student tasks and provides assistance across the lifecycle.

Why this matters for CFOs, Controllers, and FP&A

• Faster close with clearer status and fewer manual reconciliations.
• Richer margin views by expressing allocation logic in plain language and iterating quickly.
• Continuous testing that strengthens controls, flags fraud risks earlier, and supports audit readiness.
• Cleaner talent and performance signals that improve workforce planning and forecast accuracy.

Flex Credits: simpler access and scale for AI

Workday is introducing Flex Credits to make adoption straightforward. Credits are included with every subscription, renew annually, and can be used across agents and platform innovations. As usage grows, you add credits-no convoluted tiers or hidden fees.

• Built-in access: Initial credits included and renewed annually.
• Scalable growth: Add credits as usage expands-clear and predictable.
• Universal flexibility: Apply credits across agents and platform features as needs shift.

Availability and next steps

New Illuminate agents will be available in 2026. Flex Credits are available to purchase now. If you plan to evaluate, line up data readiness, close calendar impact analysis, access policies, and change management so pilots translate into production results.

Learn more at Workday. For upskilling your team on practical AI for finance, see this curated list of AI tools for finance.

Notes and context

Workday reports more than a trillion transactions processed each year across millions of workers and tens of thousands of roles, feeding the context its agents use to automate steps and recommend actions. Certain capabilities referenced are in development; timing and features may change.

Additional proof points from Workday's agent portfolio

• Contract Intelligence Agent: Cuts contract execution time by 65% and speeds sales cycles and supplier onboarding.
• Frontline Agent: Reduces time spent on staffing changes by up to 90%.
• Financial Audit Agent: Saves up to 900 hours per year by automating audit evidence collection and reporting.
• Payroll Agent: Enables compliance up to 4x faster.
• Planning Agent: Reduces data exploration and analysis by 30% (~100 hours per month).