If there are executives who have remained indifferent to the developments in Large Language Models and Generative AI, we can safely say they will retire within the next two years—though we can’t guarantee the farewell package.
For now, these systems are still mostly at the level of casual conversation, but depending on who you ask, they will either reach reasoning capabilities very soon or within the next decade. If they achieve reasoning and planning capabilities, surpassing human intelligence will not be far off. This will occur when chatbots and virtual assistants begin performing tasks, predicting outcomes, and suggesting next actions—essentially reaching the cognitive power level known among AI researchers as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). While they still make many mistakes today, they are learning from those mistakes rapidly. We humans, however, often resist learning from our errors, clinging to the belief that we are right.
Generative AI will significantly impact payroll work in both positive and negative ways. For one, payroll employees will soon spend more time conversing with AI assistants than with their spouses.
If not now, then in the very near future, the integration of AI into payroll will change the skill and competency sets we seek when hiring payroll staff. Instead of traditional payroll and compliance knowledge, learning ability and analytical skills will become much more valuable.
The perception of payroll as a career path full of routine tasks—which discourages many job seekers—will also shift. With the deeper integration of Generative AI into our lives, payroll roles, like many other professions, will transform. They will evolve into higher-level strategic functions, with greater emphasis placed on technology and analytical skills.
The business world is heavily focused on AI, and the developments in this field appear poised to change us irreversibly. Over the past five years, the trend of companies creating a Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) role has reportedly tripled—and is expected to grow geometrically. This role is said to focus less on AI research and more on legal, change management, ethics, and security risks. Last year even saw conferences specifically for CAIOs. It seems clear that alongside other changes, payroll systems will eventually establish a new sub-department dedicated to AI.
The future is now, and it is being shaped by Artificial Intelligence. Are you ready?
Robotic Process Automation (Repetitive Tasks): Generative AI-supported RPA tools will automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as data entry, payroll calculations, and report generation. RPA itself has been a rapidly developing field since 2017. In fact, automating repetitive tasks doesn’t even require dedicated software anymore—a skilled payroll analyst can already do it. With the addition of Generative AI plugins to these tools, the demand for traditional payroll specialists—whose primary role has been to apply specific regulatory knowledge to data—will decline over time.
Improved Accuracy and Error Detection: Advanced AI models can analyze large volumes of data quickly and accurately, reducing human errors in payroll processing. Today, control processes are the most time-consuming tasks for payroll specialists—areas that require human intelligence and judgment. But as big data becomes easier to process and analysis capacity increases, payroll accuracy could rise to nearly 100%. For example, inconsistencies in overtime or wages and the correct analysis of trends could bring payroll’s core function to a near-perfect accuracy rate. Payroll specialists would then only handle exceptional cases, leading to a major transformation in the role.
Enhanced Analytical Capabilities: With advanced data analysis abilities, Generative AI can provide insights into payroll data. This could render standalone payroll analytics software and the associated efforts obsolete. Analytical capacity may be directly integrated into outsourced payroll systems. This would assign payroll professionals more strategic responsibilities—such as influencing decision-making around payroll-related matters, linking payroll with performance management, or tracking the impact of payroll on employee turnover and customer retention—transforming the role of payroll teams.
Compliance and Risk Management: A development that may challenge the very existence of payroll companies is that Generative AI systems will continuously monitor changes in laws and regulations, issuing alerts to help ensure compliance. However, companies will likely still rely on payroll specialists or payroll service providers to manage this. Advanced compliance tools will be used by payroll experts, evolving into more specialized and in-depth advisory strategies on compliance. Even if such tools exist, payroll professionals will still need to invest time in learning how to use them effectively.
