ChatGPT took the world by storm when it launched, but much of the hype has since dwindled. Now that HR professionals have had a year to use it, its strengths and weaknesses have become clearer. Here are seven of the best, proven use cases for ChatGPT in HR today.

1. Streamlining Research

The most reliable and practical way to use ChatGPT in HR is as a research tool. Many professionals are still skeptical about generative AI for content creation — and for good reason — but its ability to summarize large amounts of data can significantly shorten research timelines. Now that Microsoft has given ChatGPT access to real-time data through Bing, it’s even better.

This fast, AI-driven research is particularly helpful when reviewing compensation packages. HR professionals can ask ChatGPT to find industry averages for pay, vacation time and other benefits to get a better understanding of what makes a position competitive.

Similarly, HR workers can ask ChatGPT what job seekers look for in a position the most. While formal industry studies may be more accurate, AI is reliable enough to offer general recommendations and is far faster than manual searches.

2. Drafting Outreach Materials

ChatGPT is also helpful for drafting communications like job board postings, LinkedIn posts or company emails. The key word here is “drafting.” Generative tools like ChatGPT provide great starting points, but if HR professionals don’t tailor and edit the results, they could run into repetitive, generic and even copyright-infringing copy.

While ChatGPT cannot produce the final version of any content, it speeds up the normal writing process. HR departments can ask it to write several versions of an email or post and then pick one as their ideal template. Giving ChatGPT past examples of posts that have done well could yield even more relevant, helpful results.

Human professionals must always have the final say in any public-facing AI content. However, using AI for early drafts can save a lot of time and provide helpful inspiration.

3. Refining Job Descriptions

Similarly, HR departments can use ChatGPT or similar tools to make more compelling job descriptions. Again, human writers should edit this content before posting, but 65% of business leaders agree AI now sounds more human and natural than it used to, so it may not need too much work.

Prompt engineering — where AI users offer more detailed prompts to get better results — is essential here. Instead of asking ChatGPT to simply write a description or a position, give it some specifics. Telling ChatGPT the role’s location, pay, responsibilities and requirements and asking for a specific format will yield better job descriptions.

ChatGPT can phrase things or offer formats that HR professionals would’ve missed otherwise. Alternatively, it could produce multiple versions of the same listing to help select the best one. Refining job postings like this could help draw more talent in a competitive market.

4. Generating Interview or Peer Feedback Questions

HR professionals can also gain a lot by using ChatGPT for internal processes. One of the most helpful of these applications is to generate questions for job interviews or peer feedback.

Coming up with enough relevant interview or feedback questions can be difficult and time-consuming. Prompting ChatGPT to do it instead is much faster. Because this is a relatively straightforward task, ChatGPT’s results may be just as good as entirely human-written questionnaires, too.

Using ChatGPT this way has the added benefit of avoiding its complex copyright implications, as businesses don’t profit from interview questions. Repetitive language — which AI often produces — isn’t an issue, either, as reader engagement isn’t the point with this copy.

5. Summarizing Feedback

ChatGPT is also handy after getting responses to these questions. Just as AI can summarize research when gauging industry standards, it can pull key takeaways and trends from feedback forms.

Compiling internal feedback is essential to supporting a healthy working environment, but it’s time-consuming and repetitive. HR departments can eliminate much of that time by copying and pasting responses into a ChatGPT prompt and asking the bot to summarize the findings. Results will appear in a matter of seconds.

More in-depth investigations require manual analysis. However, if the goal is to get an overall understanding of workforce sentiment on an issue, AI summaries are the ideal solution.

6. Creating Policy Templates

Another one of the best use cases for ChatGPT in HR is to draft templates for company policies. AI isn’t great for writing policies, as these should be specific to the company and require insider knowledge, but it is helpful in formatting them.

Unclear workplace expectations have a strong impact on employee productivity, and clearer policies can address this gap. Giving ChatGPT some basic expectations and a description of the company or position, then asking it to write an HR policy for it can lead to great starting points. HR teams can then plug in missing information and refine the details to match their specific needs.

Because ChatGPT can produce these policy templates almost instantly, it’s particularly helpful in creating several iterations. HR departments can choose whichever communicates their ideas most clearly from there.

7. Highlighting Workforce Trends

Finally, HR professionals can use ChatGPT to keep track of changes in the workforce. This applies to both a company’s current employee body and the larger labor market as a whole.

ChatGPT’s summary abilities make it great for parsing internal communications and forms for trends. Similarly, now that the tool has access to real-time data, HR teams can ask it to find commonalities in what workers today are posting on LinkedIn, asking for from their employers or citing as their reasons for leaving a company.

These results won’t offer highly precise specifics, but they provide an overall look at growing changes. Understanding these general movements will inform more effective HR policies and strategies as the workforce evolves.

See Past the Hype to Make the Most of ChatGPT

ChatGPT may not have reached the heights some early enthusiasts claimed it would, but it’s still helpful. Now that the industry has learned from trial and error, its ideal use cases are easier to pinpoint.

These seven applications aren’t the only ways to use ChatGPT or other AI tools, but they’re some of the most helpful. When HR professionals know where this technology is most reliable, they can use it for better results and less difficulty.