Week 1 | What is AI? Why Does it Matter for Workday?

AI Explained: Why it Matters for Workday™

AI has been making a huge splash in the news recently, and for a variety of reasons it sparks the gamut of emotions—confusion, anger, excitement, and fear, among others. As we became more broadly aware of AI after the release of ChatGPT three years ago, individuals and organizations have grappled with whether, when, and how to adopt these productivity tools. Large-scale software vendors, including Workday™, have been slowly infusing AI technology into their systems for years. Major acquisitions in 2025 have made it clear now that AI isn’t just for tech giants anymore. AI is shaping HR, Finance, and Planning today with bigger plans for 2026 and beyond. What does that mean for you as a Workday customer?

What is AI in Simple Terms?

AI is not magic, and it’s not human. It’s software, built and trained by humans, that learns patterns from data and uses those patterns to make predictions, recommendations, or take actions. Unlike other software that we’ve built over time that’s built on rules, AI adapts and improves over time. Think of it like a smart assistant that helps automate tasks and supports better decision-making. I remember being so excited about macro functionality as it evolved in Microsoft applications. Even though it took some time through recording (and sometimes VBA) to work out the details, not having to spend hours doing the same repetitive tasks was a relief on my mind, hands, and schedule. Today’s AI is like the “macro revolution” on steroids as an opportunity to streamline repetitive tasks and give us time back for better, value-adding activities for us individually and as organizations.

Where did AI come from?

AI is also not new. The earliest foundations of AI were born at a workshop at Dartmouth University in 1956, where the term “Artificial Intelligence” was coined. I personally started learning about AI during a college IT course in the late 90s and remember thinking how powerfully futuristic it was. In the time since then, though researchers and developers have made steady progress, the conditions were not yet right for the explosion that we’ve seen over the last five years. Breakthroughs in AI theory, training, and the increase in data availability and computing capability over the past decade have enabled the massive shift in capabilities that we are now seeing.

I was busy exclusively supporting Workday when ChatGPT first released on November 30, 2022— my late 90s future had arrived, and I felt too busy to dig in. A few months later, a question raised during a business dinner with an industry CIO about my plans for generative AI strategy reignited my interests and set a new path in motion.

Everyday Examples You Already Use

W e’ve already established that this is not something new, it just feels new because of the media coverage. Lack of clarity on the definition of “AI” and our basic human nature to critically evaluate the threat of new things make this adoption journey unique. Most people already rely on AI. According to Gallup, nearly all Americans use products that involve artificial intelligence (AI) features, though nearly two-thirds don’t realize it. As you scroll through your Netflix recommendations, ask Alexa about whether the eggs dated last week are still good, or get a fraud alert text from Bank of America, you are interacting with AI-driven tools.

Why AI is Important for Workday Customers

While the masses have been focused on ChatGPT and interacting with other types of AI-driven tools, software vendors have been gearing up to revolutionize the AI functionality within their systems. After growing their existing AI functionality and announcing acquisitions this fall, Workday has started to share details of their coming Agentic Ecosystem. What this means is that agents—Workday’s own, ones you build, even third-party agents—will now have a place in Workday to work together securely.

Imagine an entire orchestra seated with human and AI agents performing together, conducted by a human. We would look at the piece of music (the business process) and consider what parts could or should be managed by an agent musician versus which should always be managed by a human, which frees us up to consider what additional excitement we can add to our “performance” with special guests or new instrumentation.

Using AI in our enterprise systems helps us in three major ways—efficiency, insights, and personalization. Agents present new ways to automate or innovate, especially in cases where the full end-to-end may extend beyond Workday. Used effectively, AI is a tool that will give us better insights for spotting trends and anomalies faster than manual analysis. It may be counterintuitive in some ways, but using AI effectively means that we have ways to provide more personalized impact. When deployed in a human-empowering way, AI doesn’t replace people, it amplifies human decision-making and capacity for connection.

Workday & The Agentic Future

Workday has already embedded AI into the platform through features like Skills Cloud, Talent Marketplace, and Forecasting tools. It’s truly just the beginning with the broader Agentic Ecosystem on the horizon. These AI agents aren’t typical “enable-and-forget” features, they will require you to understand AI, employ big-picture thinking, and have thoughtful discussions about the future of work. This technology is moving fast. In a recent program that I completed at MIT, experts are citing technology change cycles in weeks and not months or years. The truth is that everyone is figuring this out as we go and nobody has it all figured out.

For some, the change feels like too much, too fast, all at once. It is a lot to digest, with a lot of potential. As this technology evolves, it’s best to adopt a curious mindset. Let’s learn and Share together, in just the way the Customer Sharing Movement always does! Join us during Wednesday’s Sharing Café, where we will begin to build understanding, explore functionality, and consider next steps together.