Are chatbots the future for HR?

Companies are starting to be familiar with the concept of chatbots, a service powered by artificial intelligence, that you interact with via a chat interface.
Chatbots had a tough time in the consumer world, but they are proving to be very successful and popular in the HR industry. A lot of people in this sector are already interacting with their colleagues and teams via Slack, for example.
In the HR area, chatbots are replacing humans, which is a bit ironic. So, will they be the future?

Chatbots in human resources

Chatbots can make a difference with any HR related issues. They provide quick and customized answers, and give the chance of being constantly connected to the company community even just through mobile devices.
Many companies have self-service HR software solutions and chatbots on their pages, but this does not mean HR staff is not there to help and support in case of need. Many chatbot solutions start small, by answering only to questions like benefits or annual leave. But then, after a testing period, it can become a very powerful tool.

Chatbots have far more functions than just answering questions: they can be used to gather employee data and make informed decisions to create more efficient processes. For example, chatbots are useful in HR activities like the Annual Performance Reviews: this time-consuming process can be shortened and simplified by chatbots, that can help accomulating data from employees in no time. It saves time, and increases productivity.
Another example of how a chatbot can be used, is that it can notify an HR, connect calendars and book a meeting. Or just redirect to whom is more qualified about a certain issue. If a chatbot is created properly, employees will want to talk to it, considering it very natural and close to human interaction. On a functionality level, it is the blending of a computer with a human that has the greatest effect.

Data proves Chatbots are a pro

Organisations are starting to see case studies and results from artificial intelligence and chatbot technology. The effectiveness of bots is expected to increase hugely in the coming years. Latest research shows us that businesses can save 8 billion dollars per year by using chatbots. The analysts believe more than 90% of chatbots interactions in the banking industry will be successful without any human help by 2022, and in healthcare it will be over 75%.
Chatbots and AI  form a small but significant step in revolutionizing the way enterprise solutions are supposed to be : simple, intuitive, and engaging.

What next?

Adopting a chatbot is not a decision that compromises HR, it is not one or the other. For the employees who want to use the chatbot to get their questions answered immediately, they absolutely can use it. Rather than waiting for a response from HR, the chatbot can pull information in from whatever resource it needs and answer in real-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Chatbots are the future, and Human Resources are definitely moving towards this trend. Quite everybody can agree that it is an intelligent, smart, time-saving, and easy way to interact, and that it can help making things easier. However, they aren’t humans, and their potential is still a work-in-progress.