Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly moved from futuristic concept to a daily companion to people across all industries – including HR. Whether it’s streamlining admin, generating content or sparking ideas, readily available AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity are helping lighten the load across the profession.
But with great power comes great responsibility. HR plays a uniquely trusted role within organisations and with that comes the expectation –and the obligation – to handle sensitive employee data with care. As AI becomes more embedded in HR workflows, the risks around data privacy, bias, and legal compliance grow. And the truth is, general-purpose AI tools aren’t built for the realities of HR.
The good news? With a thoughtful approach, HR teams can harness AI’s benefits without compromising their duty of care. Below, we share five practical pointers to help HR professionals use AI safely and ethically – and introduce how our own AI capabilities have been designed with these concerns in mind.
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- Beware of ‘hallucinations’ and always apply human oversight
- Know your legal landscape – and remember, AI is not the expert
- Protect personal and sensitive data at all costs
- Keep AI access secure – that means no shared logins, ever
- Use AI in ways that align with your organisation’s values and capabilities
- Watch out for bias – in the AI and in yourself
- How we’re building AI with HR trust and safety in mind
How to use AI in HR technology safely
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Beware of ‘hallucinations’ and always apply human oversight
You’ve likely heard the term ‘AI hallucination’ – but in HR, it’s more than a technical curiosity. It’s a potential reputational and legal risk.
Hallucinations are AI-generated outputs that seem confident but are factually incorrect or entirely made up. When using tools like ChatGPT to generate draft policies, summaries or communication templates, it’s essential that a human expert carefully reviews every output.
Imagine asking AI to summarise disciplinary procedures or generate an email around employee grievances. If the model misrepresents the facts – or worse, makes assumptions based on employment law in another country – it could cause confusion, erode trust or even lead to a compliance breach.
The fix? Use AI as a thinking partner, not a decision-maker. Let it spark ideas and lighten cognitive load but always verify the content before sharing or acting on it.
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Know your legal landscape – and remember, AI is not the expert
AI tools are trained on vast datasets, many of which are sourced from global content. That means they often lack nuance when it comes to local employment laws and HR regulations.
For example, data privacy requirements in the UK (under GDPR) differ significantly from those in the US or other jurisdictions. Likewise, redundancy processes, employee rights and benefits frameworks vary from country to country – and AI tools don’t automatically know which apply to your context.
If you’re based in the UK and using a general AI tool, double-check that the guidance aligns with UK-specific legislation. And if you work for a multinational organisational, ensure your content is relevant to each region’s legal requirements.
When in doubt, ask a compliance expert – not a chatbot.
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Protect personal and sensitive data at all costs
This one’s simple, but crucial: never share personally identifiable information (PII) with an open AI tool. That includes names, job titles, emails, salary details, performance reviews, grievances – and anything else that could trace back to a real individual.
Most public AI tools retain user inputs for a period of time to improve model performance. Even if the platform claims to anonymise your data, it still introduces the risk of sensitive information being stored or used in ways you can’t control.
To stay safe:
- Anonymise any scenarios before pasting into AI tools
- Do not uploading documents with real employee data
- Strip out meta data and identifiers from example cases
- Use dummy data when testing or experimenting
HR is all about trust – and trust is easy to lose if employee information is mishandled.
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Keep AI access secure – that means no shared logins, ever
It might seem harmless to share a login for an AI tool among your team – but in HR, that’s a risk you can’t afford.
Shared credentials can make it impossible to track who accessed what, when. They also make it easier for accidental misuse or intentional abuse to go unnoticed. If someone inputs sensitive HR data into a public tool under a shared login, you may not even know it happened – and by then, the damage is done.
Instead:
- Create individual accounts for each team member
- Apply suitable permissions for each user’s role
- Enable two-factor authentication where available
Security isn’t just about technology. It’s about behaviours – and good habits start with access control.
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Use AI in ways that align with your organisation’s values and capabilities
If you’re using AI tools in a professional capacity, it’s worth investing in a secure, enterprise-grade solution. For example, you might consider Microsoft Copilot – an AI platform designed with data protection in mind – as it ensures that any internal content you generate stays within your secure Microsoft 365 environment.
If a full enterprise solution isn’t available to you yet, you can still mitigate risks by:
- Using incognito or private browsing modes to avoid history tracking
- Regularly clearing chat histories or cached data
- Avoiding signing into AI tools with work email addresses tied to sensitive systems
Above all, set boundaries. Define where and when AI is appropriate in your workflows – and make sure your team understands what safe use looks like.
Bonus tip: watch out for bias – in the AI and in yourself
AI models reflect the data they’ve been trained on – and that data often includes historical biases, outdated norms, or skewed perspectives. Whether you’re drafting job descriptions, evaluating employee feedback or planning future workforce strategy, AI suggestions can subtly reinforce stereotypes or introduce unfair assumptions.
Even more subtly, AI can introduce confirmation bias. It may provide information that reinforces your existing view, simply because that’s what the prompt implied. As an HR professional, your job is to challenge assumptions – not confirm them.
Use AI outputs as a springboard, not a blueprint. And always run them through your ethical lens.
How we’re building AI with HR trust and safety in mind
We understand the power and potential of AI. We also understand the responsibility that comes with handling people data.
That’s why we’ve integrated carefully designed AI functionality within our HR software that:
- Draws only from your existing, secure HR data – such as performance reviews and one-to-one notes
- Aggregates insights over the past 12 months, so you get context-rich summaries without introducing new risks
- Doesn’t rely on public domain material, which reduces the chance of hallucinations or biased outputs
- Operates fully within your secure HR environment, keeping you compliant with GDPR and other relevant regulations
In other words, you get the efficiency of AI with the security and precision HR demands. No data leaks. No blind spots. No shortcuts.
Whether you’re preparing for a performance review, building out a development plan or simply trying to spot patterns across your team, our AI in HR technology helps you move faster – and smarter – while staying secure and in control.
Remember: AI is a tool, not a replacement for judgement
AI can help HR professionals reclaim time, generate ideas, and make better decisions. But it’s not a substitute for expertise, empathy or accountability. It’s not a substitute for real people like you.
Used carelessly, AI poses real risks. Used well, AI in HR technology can be a transformative asset.
By understanding the limitations of general-purpose AI tools – and using secure, purpose-built functionality like ours – HR teams can stay true to their mission: protecting people, upholding trust and shaping the future of work with clarity and care.
If you’d like to learn more about how our built-in HR AI functionality can help your organisation, download our AI factsheet. Or, if you want to see it in action, book a free, no-strings-attached demo with our experts.
Disclaimer: The information shared in this blog post is for general guidance and informational purposes only. Ciphr does not provide legal, compliance or data security advice. Organisations should consult qualified legal, compliance and data protection professionals to ensure their use of AI in HR technology aligns with applicable laws, regulations and best practices.