Gartner Research Finds Only 8% of HR Leaders Believe Their Managers Have the Skills to Effectively Use AI

Only 8% of HR leaders believe their managers have the skills needed to use AI effectively today, according to Gartner, Inc, a business and technology insights company.

This research was showcased today during Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo, taking place here through Thursday.

Despite the low confidence in manager use of AI, a July 2025 Gartner survey of 114 HR leaders revealed that one in three HR leaders say their organization expects higher performance from employees when they use AI

“When deployed correctly, AI-augmented management – automating routine tasks that don’t require human input and supporting day-to-day management decisions with timely, AI-driven insights – enables managers to focus on being more strategic, human-centric, and impactful,” said Carolina Engels, Senior Principal, Advisory, in the Gartner HR practice.

The Gartner survey found 79% of HR leaders believe HR should focus on enabling and motivating employees to leverage technology in ways that promote organizational growth. As CHROs continue to heavily prioritize leader and manager effectiveness, it’s imperative that they help managers build necessary AI skills and capabilities and improve their effectiveness.

Gartner recommends CHROs take four key actions to help managers better utilize AI: 

Before employees can effectively reap the performance benefits of AI, it is crucial for CHROs to first define clear rules and systems when it comes to AI augmentation.

CHROs need to partner with their Legal and Risk peers to create direct guidelines for AI use, define ethical use, data boundaries, and approval processes for AI tools.

When deciding what to automate, CHROs should work with managers directly to uncover which tasks are the best fit for automation and collaborate with IT about what is possible. Such tasks may include reviewing data aggregation, drafting performance reviews, or providing employees with real-time feedback on recent client deliverables.

CHROs should partner with learning and development (L&D) leaders and HR business partners (HRBPs) to audit workflows, surface quick wins, and co-design role evolution.

CHROs should take a human-centric approach that focuses on identifying where AI can support the human element of work. This could be choosing AI that deepens human connections, such as providing a manager with insights to coach more effectively, or creating a working group of managers that can discuss pain points and share where they are looking for AI support.

“By focusing on human-centric leadership, CHROs can help managers effectively communicate AI-driven insights to their teams,” said Engels. “This lays the foundation for creating a positive employee experience when it comes to AI.”

Only 14% of organizations reported providing support to managers on how to integrate generative AI (GenAI) into their daily tasks, according to an August 2025 Gartner survey of 114 HR Leaders.

CHROs can equip managers and employees to work effectively with AI by developing AI literacy programs that include hands-on learning, internal guidance, and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. These programs and trainings, led by L&D and IT, should combine digital fluency with essential leadership skills and can include robust role-specific AI onboarding to help managers lead with and through AI.

“The currently available and the emerging AI tools landscape is flipping the manager role from managing information and decisions to coordinating insights and predicting the needs of employees,” added Engels. “While AI should not be used to replace managers, it can be used as a tool to empower them to spend more meaningful time with their direct reports.”

About Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo

Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo is where CHROs and their leadership teams gather each year to reimagine their strategies through the lens of Gartner’s research-driven insights and expert advice on leadership and learning, employee experience, culture and change, talent acquisition and workforce planning, and HR technology. Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo is being held October 7-9 in London, October 27-29 in Florida, and November 17-18 in Sydney. Follow news and updates from these events on LinkedIn using #GartnerHR.