Hays said on August 25 that it is entering “the next phase” of its “AI-powered workforce transformation” and expanding Microsoft AI capabilities to more than 8,000 employees. In the company’s announcement, Hays said the rollout includes Microsoft 365 E7 capabilities, including AI agents and Copilot Studio capabilities, and is intended to reduce administrative work and improve productivity.
Hays also said early proof-of-value results showed 77% of 1,000 participants saved more than one hour per week. In the same materials, Hays said the goal is to reduce administrative tasks and free more time for advisory conversations with customers and candidates. Microsoft UK Stories separately said Hays is using Microsoft Copilot to help recruiters move faster while retaining human judgement in every selection.
A separate Bloomberg Law report said Hays is shifting its hiring strategy toward roles that are harder to replace with AI and wants to target higher-value roles where the potential impact from AI is lowest. The supplied sources do not identify which specific job categories are being prioritized, or whether the reported strategy change applies across all of Hays’ hiring.
What Hays said about the rollout
According to Hays, the rollout gives more than 8,000 employees access to Microsoft 365 E7 capabilities. Hays said the rollout includes AI agents and Copilot Studio capabilities, and the company described the initiative as part of its AI-powered workforce transformation. The supplied sources do not identify which offices, teams, or countries are included in the rollout.
What the early results were said to show
Hays reported that 77% of 1,000 participants saved more than one hour per week in early proof-of-value results. The company linked that time saving to a goal of reducing administrative tasks. The supplied sources do not say how the participants were selected, how the proof-of-value results were measured, or whether the figures reflect a wider rollout.
How the hiring strategy was described
Bloomberg Law reported that Hays will focus on hiring for roles that are harder to replace with artificial intelligence. Bloomberg Law also said Hays plans to target higher-value roles where the potential impact from AI is lowest. The supplied sources do not specify whether this is a formal policy, a management guideline, or a broader business emphasis.
Why this matters
The immediate labor-market signal in the supplied reporting is twofold: Hays is using AI tools to reduce recruiting administration inside the company, and it is also described as steering hiring toward work it sees as less exposed to AI. Because the sources do not identify the affected job families, the safest reading is limited to that stated shift in emphasis, not a broader claim about the whole staffing market.
What to watch next is whether Hays provides more detail on the rollout’s scope, the timing of any wider deployment, or how the reported hiring emphasis will be implemented. The supplied sources do not provide those details.