The AI assistant can help employees and managers complete everyday HR and workplace tasks using natural language. Depending on your configuration, they can use it to find policies, look up live HR information, submit requests, update personal details, start workflows, or get help from HR.
Employees can complete these tasks in the same conversation rather than opening a separate form for every request.
The capabilities available to employees and managers depend on the knowledge, tools, workflows, agents, and channels you have configured. The assistant cannot create new system actions on its own.
How task completion works
When an employee asks the assistant to complete a task, it:
- Understands the request and identifies what they need.
- Uses the appropriate capability, such as knowledge, a live system tool, a supported action, a workflow, or Case Management.
- Shows progress while it works. For example, it might show “Checking your leave balance.”
- Collects missing information by asking follow-up questions in the conversation.
- Requests confirmation when required before completing an action that changes information or records.
- Returns the result in the same conversation.
The assistant can complete tasks in the employee portal, mobile app, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Outlook, depending on your configuration.
What employees and managers can do
| Capability | What it enables | Example |
| Find information | Answer questions using approved organizational knowledge, such as policies, guides, and FAQs | “What’s our parental leave policy?” |
| Look up live information | Retrieve current information from connected HR systems | “How much annual leave do I have left?” |
| Complete HR tasks | Submit supported requests or update information in connected systems | “Book leave next Friday.” |
| Start a workflow | Begin or continue a designed, multistep process | “Start my onboarding.” |
| Raise or manage a case | Get help from HR when a request needs human involvement | “I think there’s an error with my payslip.” |
| Work with files | Upload a supported file and ask questions about its contents | “Can you explain this document?” |
Examples of AI-assisted tasks
Time off
An employee can ask:
“I want to book leave next Friday.”
The assistant can collect the required information, confirm the request when required, and submit it through the connected HR system.
Payslip support
An employee can ask:
“I need help with my payslip.”
The assistant can explain the relevant process using organizational knowledge or help the employee raise a case with the information they have already provided.
Policy questions
An employee or manager can ask:
“Can I work from another country for a month?”
The assistant searches approved organizational knowledge, such as Knowledge Management articles, documents, or connected SharePoint content. It uses the available content rather than inventing an organizational policy.
Manager tasks
Managers can use the assistant for supported tasks involving their teams, such as retrieving team information or completing manager-specific requests. Availability depends on the employee’s permissions, audience eligibility, and the tools and agents configured for the request.
What happens when the assistant cannot complete a task?
The assistant can only perform actions that have been configured and made available to the person making the request.
Depending on the situation, it can:
- Ask for more information.
- Explain what it can and cannot do.
- Start or continue an available workflow.
- Raise or route an HR case.
- Direct the person to the appropriate HR process.
This helps keep unsupported or higher-risk requests with the appropriate HR team or process.
Where employees can complete tasks
The same AI assistant can support task completion across the channels you enable:
| Channel | Experience |
| Employee portal | Employees and managers can have a conversation and interact with supported visuals. |
| Mobile app | Employees and managers can complete supported tasks from the mobile experience. |
| Microsoft Teams | Employees and managers can complete supported tasks through conversations with the Applaud bot. |
| Slack | Employees and managers can complete supported tasks through an assistant thread, direct message, or supported mention. |
| Outlook | Employees and managers can complete supported tasks through an email conversation with the connected shared inbox. |
What you configure
The employee experience depends on the capabilities you make available.
You can control:
- Knowledge - what policies, guides, documents, and other content the assistant can use.
- Tools - which connected systems and actions the assistant can access.
- Agents - which specialist capabilities are available for particular domains, audiences, or processes.
- Workflows - which multistep processes employees and managers can start or continue.
- Case Management - when requests can be deflected, raised as cases, or handled by HR.
- Permissions and eligibility - who can access particular capabilities and actions.
- Channels - where employees and managers can access the assistant.