Index › Onboarding and employee experience › September 2026 Edition

HR AI assistants

Asked as “AI assistant for HR teams”, and as “HR chatbot for employee questions”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. 48 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.

Standing

Workativ Assistant

Contested

12% of first choices, contested.

ShowinginAll 50 categories in the September 2026 Edition →

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.

Small business

Gusto29%ContestedStanding →Mid-market

Workativ Assistant12%ContestedThis page Enterprise

Leena AI36%ContestedStanding →

01The standing

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company. Ordered by share.

ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant

Workativ Assistant0%18accepted challenger

ChatGPT27%11criticized challenger

Leena AI8%37accepted challenger

Lattice0%18accepted challenger

HiBob0%10accepted challenger

Moveworks29%21criticized challenger

Rippling7%14accepted challenger

Show the four products at 0%, ordered by negative rate

Workday56%16criticized challenger

Paradox19%16accepted challenger

Humand9%11accepted challenger

BambooHR8%13accepted challenger

Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its vendor page.

Head to head

Workativ Assistant vs ChatGPT Workativ Assistant vs Leena AI ChatGPT vs Leena AI

Recommended versus criticized

Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.

Criticized challengerCriticized default

Negative label rate →

Accepted challengerEndorsed leader

0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative30%

Key

Workativ Assistant12%

ChatGPT10%

Leena AI6%

Lattice6%

HiBob6%

Moveworks4%

Rippling2%

Paradox0%

BambooHR0%

Humand0%

Workday0%

02What they warned about

One of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity Sonar, Grok 4.1 Fast, Mistral Small, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash, GLM 4.7 FlashX and MiniMax M2.5 changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.

Workday

56%

9 of 16 labels negative · 9 of 12 models · 6 hard negative

“Workday's AI tools are the subject of the notable class action lawsuit Mobley v. Workday, where the plaintiff claims the company's AI tools automatically rejected him and other applicants” Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt

Eightfold AI

62%

5 of 8 labels negative · 5 of 12 models · 4 hard negative

“Eightfold is currently being sued in a class-action lawsuit filed by job applicants who claim their automated screening functions as an "undisclosed consumer report."” Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt

HireVue

100%

4 of 4 labels negative · 4 of 12 models · 4 hard negative

“HireVue, a video interview platform, historically used "facial analysis" to score candidates' traits... alleging the technology was deceptive and biased” Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt

Moveworks

29%

6 of 21 labels negative · 4 of 12 models · 1 hard negative

“Enterprise-focused with six-figure annual contracts; overkill for mid-sized companies” Kimi K2, paraphrase prompt

03What they cite

Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: twelve of the twelve in this edition, and all six flagship models on the expanded tier.

Sites the answers cite

68 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 6 of those lists are Google grounding redirects that name no site and are left out of the counts. 854 links across 267 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.

moveworks.com

vendor site · Moveworks21 answers · 26 citations · 8 models

humand.co

vendor site · Humand20 answers · 20 citations · 9 models

workativ.com

vendor site · Workativ18 answers · 42 citations · 10 models

sanalabs.com

vendor site · Sana Labs18 answers · 20 citations · 10 models

peoplebox.ai

vendor site · Peoplebox18 answers · 18 citations · 10 models

aihr.com

vendor site · AIHR16 answers · 17 citations · 7 models

herothemes.com

16 answers · 16 citations · 8 models

hrtechsaas.com

vendor site · HRTechSaaS15 answers · 15 citations · 8 models

peoplemanagingpeople.com

vendor site · People Managing People13 answers · 16 citations · 6 models

resources.rework.com

vendor site · Rework13 answers · 16 citations · 6 models

firsthr.app

vendor site · FirstHR12 answers · 12 citations · 8 models

rippling.com

vendor site · Rippling12 answers · 12 citations · 6 models

Pages the answers cite

The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.

humand.co/en/compare/best-ai-powered-hr-software-tools

20 answers · 9 models

moveworks.com/us/en/resources/blog/best-ai-assistants-for-hr-efficiency

18 answers · 8 models

peoplebox.ai/blog/ai-tools-hr-teams

18 answers · 10 models

sanalabs.com/agents-blog/hr-ai-agents-work-assistants

18 answers · 10 models

herothemes.com/blog/hr-chatbots

16 answers · 8 models

hrtechsaas.com/blog/best-ai-hr-chatbot

12 answers · 6 models

rippling.com/blog/hr-ai-tools

12 answers · 6 models

simular.ai/alternatives/top-9-best-hr-chatbots-for-teams-tested-reviewed

12 answers · 8 models

firsthr.app/compare/core-hr/hr-ai-tools

11 answers · 8 models

gowindmill.com/resources/lists/best-ai-agents-for-hr-teams

11 answers · 8 models

04How they answered

Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.

ModelDirect“What is the best AI assistant for HR teams for a mid-market B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which HR chatbot for employee questions would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B company?”Comparative“What are the top HR AI assistants and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best AI assistant for HR teams for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating an AI assistant for HR teams. What should we look at?”Negative“Which HR AI assistants should I avoid or be cautious about?”

Claude Haiku 4.5Moveworks

Three alternatives

Leapsome, Leena AI, Paycor

MeBeBotChanged

Two alternatives

BambooHR, Leena AI

no first choiceGusto, PeopleHR

Two alternatives

Google Gemini, Zoho People

no first choiceagainst: HireVue, HiredScore AI, Sirius XM Radio, Workday

GPT-5.4 miniBambooHR with Bamboo AI / Ask BambooHR

One alternative

Workday

Microsoft’s HR policy/self-service agent approachChanged

One alternative

Workday HR Service Agent

against: ServiceNow AI Agents / Employee ServiceSana

Two alternatives

Dayforce AI Assistant / Dayforce AI Agents, UKG Bryte

against: Oracle Digital Assistant / Oracle AI for HCM, SAP Joule for HRAskTheChamp for HR, Microsoft Copilot Studio / Teams-based HR agent

One alternative

Ask BambooHR

against: Dynamics 365 Human Resources, Workdayno first choicenothing named

Gemini 3.5 FlashWorkativ Assistant

Seven alternatives

BambooHR / Bamboo AI, Juicebox, Leena AI, MeBeBot, Paradox, PeopleGPT, Rippling

against: Moveworks, ServiceNowLeena AIChanged

Three alternatives

BambooHR, Risotto, Workativ Assistant

against: ServiceNow, Workday AssistantMoveworks

Four alternatives

Eightfold AI, Humand, Leena AI, Paradox

ChatGPT, Claude, Google NotebookLM

Five alternatives

AI HR Pilot, BambooHR, PeopleHR, Risotto, Workativ Assistant

no first choiceagainst: Eightfold AI, HireVue, Workday

Perplexity SonarMoveworks

Three alternatives

Lattice, Leena AI, Workativ Assistant

against: ChatGPTWorkativ AssistantChanged

Three alternatives

CustomGPT.ai, Leena AI, MeBeBot

Leena AI

Five alternatives

Lattice AI, Moveworks, Paradox, ServiceNow HR Service Delivery, Windmill

ChatGPT, Claude

Two alternatives

Gusto, HRStak

no first choicenothing named

Grok 4.1 FastRippling

Two alternatives

BambooHR, Lattice

against: ADP Workforce Now, HumandMeBeBotChanged

Two alternatives

Leena AI, Workativ Assistant

Paradox

Five alternatives

Humand, Lattice, Leena AI, Moveworks, Rippling

ChatGPT

Five alternatives

Claude, Effy AI, Google Gemini, Leena AI, Playroll Orbit

no first choiceagainst: Amazon's recruiting AI, BambooHR, Eightfold AI, HireVue, Paradox, Workday

Mistral SmallLeena AI, Workativ Assistant

Three alternatives

HiBob, Lattice, Paycor

against: Moveworks, Workday AssistantCapacity, Workativ AssistantChanged

One alternative

WotNot

no first choiceGusto

Three alternatives

360Learning, Bonusly, Effy

no first choicenothing named

DeepSeek V4 FlashHiBob

Four alternatives

Lattice, Leena AI, Paradox, Rippling

MeBeBotChanged

Two alternatives

Ask BambooHR, Workativ Assistant

Leena AI, Moveworks

Six alternatives

Darwinbox, Lattice, Leapsome, Rippling, SAP SuccessFactors, Workday

ChatGPT, Claude, Gusto, HelpJet

Four alternatives

Leena AI, Manatal, Playroll Orbit, Zoho Recruit

against: Moveworksno first choiceagainst: Leena AI, Moveworks, ServiceNowagainst: Amazon's (now-defunct) recruiting engine, Eightfold AI, Workday

Llama 4 MaverickLattice

Four alternatives

HiBob, Leena AI, Paycor, Windmill

WotNotChanged

One alternative

Workativ Assistant

no first choiceEffy

Four alternatives

360Learning, Bonusly, Heroic Knowledge Base, Leena AI

no first choiceagainst: Ask BambooHR, Paradox

Qwen 3.7 FlashHiBob

Three alternatives

BambooHR, Greenhouse, Lattice

Workativ AssistantChanged

Three alternatives

Capacity, Talla, WotNot

against: Paradox, Simular ProLeena AI

Five alternatives

HiBob, Humand, Kona, Paradox, Rippling

Orimon AI

Four alternatives

ChatGPT, Claude, Effy, Leena AI

no first choiceagainst: Amazon, Eightfold AI, Workday

Kimi K2MeBeBot

Two alternatives

Lattice, Paradox

against: Leena AI, MoveworksMeBeBotHeld

Two alternatives

Intercom Fin, Workativ Assistant

against: Leena AI, Moveworks, ServiceNowno first choice

Six alternatives

Leena AI, MeBeBot, Moveworks, Paradox, Rippling, Workday

ChatGPT, Kvistly

Five alternatives

DianaHR, Factorial, Gusto, Leena AI, MeBeBot

no first choiceagainst: Eightfold AI, HireVue, Pymetrics, Workday

GLM 4.7 FlashXLattice

Five alternatives

BambooHR, Greenhouse AI, Humand, Leena AI, Workativ Assistant

against: RipplingWorkativ AssistantChanged

Two alternatives

HiOperator, Talla

Leena AI, Moveworks

Four alternatives

Deel AI, Humand, Lattice, Paradox

against: ChatGPTPlayroll Orbit

Five alternatives

AeroChat, ChatGPT, Claude, Factorial, Workativ Assistant

no first choiceagainst: Amazon, ChatGPT, Workday

MiniMax M2.5HiBob, Lattice

Three alternatives

HelpJet, Monday.com AI Agents, Paycor

Leena AIChanged

Four alternatives

Chatling, Moveworks, Workativ Assistant, peopleHum Phia

Wonderchat

Five alternatives

Humand, Lattice, Leena AI, Paradox, SeekOut

Effy

Three alternatives

360Learning, Bonusly, ChatGPT

no first choiceagainst: Workday

Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against

05The record

One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record

Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.

Prompt	Model	Version string	Time (UTC)	Searched	Sources	Latency
Direct recommendation	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:11	yes	9	8 s
Direct recommendation	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:01	yes	3	7 s
Direct recommendation	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:54	yes	22	44 s
Direct recommendation	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:48	yes	20	7 s
Direct recommendation	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 21:38	yes	29	16 s
Direct recommendation	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:57	yes	5	4 s
Direct recommendation	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 18:00	yes	17	18 s
Direct recommendation	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 21:26	yes	5	3 s
Direct recommendation	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:41	yes	7	32 s
Direct recommendation	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:47	yes	10	58 s
Direct recommendation	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 21:14	yes	21	46 s
Direct recommendation	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:49	yes	5	14 s
Paraphrase	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:14	yes	9	9 s
Paraphrase	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:00	yes	3	7 s
Paraphrase	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:52	yes	8	65 s
Paraphrase	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 17:57	yes	20	5 s
Paraphrase	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 18:15	yes	32	18 s
Paraphrase	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 20:38	yes	10	8 s
Paraphrase	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra`	2026-09-17 19:41	yes	21	49 s
Paraphrase	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 20:58	yes	5	3 s
Paraphrase	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 20:47	yes	11	23 s
Paraphrase	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:28	yes	25	32 s
Paraphrase	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 21:45	yes	21	191 s
Paraphrase	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:03	yes	13	30 s
Comparative	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:20	yes	9	10 s
Comparative	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:13	yes	5	11 s
Comparative	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:58	yes	11	56 s
Comparative	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 19:25	yes	20	10 s
Comparative	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 21:44	yes	28	16 s
Comparative	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 21:14	yes	5	6 s
Comparative	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 21:39	yes	12	16 s
Comparative	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:28	yes	5	3 s
Comparative	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:07	yes	5	19 s
Comparative	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 21:35	yes	16	34 s
Comparative	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 21:12	yes	28	68 s
Comparative	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:35	yes	9	26 s
Budget constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 19:40	yes	9	8 s
Budget constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:42	yes	4	7 s
Budget constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 20:10	yes	20	19 s
Budget constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 21:34	yes	20	6 s
Budget constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 18:08	yes	37	20 s
Budget constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:22	yes	5	4 s
Budget constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 19:40	yes	9	11 s
Budget constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 20:37	yes	5	3 s
Budget constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:57	yes	5	25 s
Budget constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 20:14	yes	10	25 s
Budget constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 21:35	yes	17	51 s
Budget constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:24	yes	5	16 s
Scale constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 19:43	no	0	7 s
Scale constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:03	no	0	10 s
Scale constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 22:07	yes	8	51 s
Scale constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 21:06	yes	20	8 s
Scale constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 18:21	yes	18	13 s
Scale constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 21:30	no	0	7 s
Scale constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 19:16	yes	20	24 s
Scale constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 21:01	yes	5	4 s
Scale constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:45	yes	10	45 s
Scale constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:28	yes	10	42 s
Scale constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:14	no	0	9 s
Scale constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:51	yes	5	25 s
Negative framing	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 21:20	yes	18	10 s
Negative framing	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:56	yes	7	8 s
Negative framing	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 19:51	yes	24	22 s
Negative framing	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:21	yes	20	7 s
Negative framing	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 21:37	yes	39	17 s
Negative framing	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 20:34	yes	5	6 s
Negative framing	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 20:31	yes	26	22 s
Negative framing	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:44	yes	9	5 s
Negative framing	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:17	yes	5	33 s
Negative framing	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:57	yes	29	34 s
Negative framing	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 20:19	yes	24	113 s
Negative framing	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 18:53	yes	15	28 s

Normalization in this category

Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.

Category-scoped readings

Leena read as Leena AI

Sana Labs read as Sana

Workativ read as Workativ Assistant

Unresolved, counted raw

Amazon's (now-defunct) recruiting engine

Amazon's recruiting AI

AskTheChamp for HR

BambooHR with Bamboo AI / Ask BambooHR

Chatling

Dayforce AI Assistant / Dayforce AI Agents

Deel AI

DianaHR

Dynamics 365 Human Resources

HONO HR Assistant

HRTailor

HiOperator

HiredScore AI

Humanly.io

Intercom Fin

Knowlix

Kona

Lattice AI

Microsoft Copilot Studio / Teams-based HR agent

Microsoft’s HR policy/self-service agent approach

Monday.com AI Agents

MyHRSVP / Leena AI

NavioHQ

Oracle Digital Assistant / Oracle AI for HCM

Orimon AI

SAP Joule for HR

ServiceNow AI Agents / Employee Service

Simular Pro

Sirius XM Radio

UKG Bryte

Wisq Harper

Workday Joule

peopleHum Phia

Discontinued, still offered

No shut-down product was recommended here.

HR AI assistants

By buyer segment

01The standing

Recommended versus criticized

02What they warned about

03What they cite

Sites the answers cite

Pages the answers cite

04How they answered

05The record

Normalization in this category

Also in onboarding and employee experience