Dear Ellie, When it Comes to AI… How Do I Not Get Left Behind?

Dear Ellie,

If 2025 taught me anything, it’s that technology is moving faster than I am. I spent all of last year hearing about AI, automation, and predictive analytics, and I feel like I’m barely keeping up with my email. My boss keeps asking for our “AI Strategy” for 2026, and honestly, I’m scared I’m going to automate myself out of a job, or worse, implement something that ruins our culture. What is the biggest lesson I should take from 2025 into this year so I don’t get left behind?

Sincerely,

Analog in a Digital World

If 2025 was the year of the “AI Explosion,” 2026 is shaping up to be the year of “AI Discernment,” and as an AI skeptic, I’m here for it.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the companies that decided to take a breath before jumping headfirst into the uncharted territory of it all. Honestly, AI should scare you a little bit. As HR practitioners, having a healthy fear of its capabilities is a survival instinct, and one that’s likely going to save our companies in multiple ways down the road.

But let me ease your mind. The panic you are feeling is the exact reason you won’t automate yourself out of a job. The fact that you are worried about ruining the culture proves you have a major skill that an algorithm cannot replicate: a conscience.

You asked for the biggest lesson to take from 2025? It is that efficiency is not the same thing as effectiveness.

Last year, we saw plenty of companies rush to automate everything. They used AI to write generic performance reviews, filter resumes without human oversight, and churn out soulless internal communications. The result? Alienated employees, bias lawsuits, and a culture that feels homogenized and synthetic.

We have to look at the risk versus the reward. AI is unregulated, experimental, and often confidently wrong. That is why I treat it like a power tool. Useful, but dangerous if you take the safety guard off.

The Playbook: Your 2026 Strategy

Let’s get you set up for an exciting and risk-aware year. Your strategy is simple: Don’t let the robot drive the bus.

Here are the three pillars for an “AI Strategy” that keeps your job secure and your culture intact:

AI is for Transactions; Humans are for Transformations

Automate the scheduling, the data sorting, and the FAQs. Do not automate the difficult conversations, the mentorship, or the conflict resolution. Use the time you save on the boring stuff to double down on the high-touch human work that builds trust.

Be the Editor, Not the Scribe

Treat AI like a very eager, very fast junior intern. It can produce a first draft of a policy or brainstorm ten ideas for an event in seconds. But it needs you to check the tone, verify the facts, and ensure it aligns with your company values. Your value isn’t in generating text anymore. It’s in your taste, your judgment, and your ability to say, “This doesn’t sound like us.”

The Human-in-the-Loop Mandate

Make this your non-negotiable rule. No decision that significantly impacts a person’s livelihood or wellbeing, such as hiring, firing, or promoting, should be made by AI alone. Establish guardrails where technology informs the decision, but a human makes the decision.

And just for you, Analog, I’m going to skip an “HR for HR” section this week to share a little cheat sheet of tools you can consider introducing into your tech stack instead.

1. “Writer’s Block” Busters

Best for turning a blank page into a first draft. Try ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), or Jasper.

• Job Descriptions: Paste a few bullet points about the role and ask it to “write a fun, inclusive job description.”
• Policy Updates: “Rewrite this strict dress code policy to sound more modern and trusting.”
• Difficult Emails: “Draft an email explaining a change in benefits that sounds empathetic, not corporate.”

Ellie’s rule: Never paste confidential names or salaries. Treat AI like gossip. Don’t tell it secrets.

2. Time Reclamation Squad

Best for getting your brain back during meetings. Try Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, or Reclaim.ai.

• Interview Notes: Let the tool transcribe the interview, with candidate permission, so you can focus on listening and eye contact instead of frantic note-taking.
• Meeting Summaries: Automatically generates action items after long strategy sessions so you don’t have to decode your own handwriting.
• Calendar Tetris: Tools like Reclaim automatically find focus time on your calendar and protect it from meeting creep.

3. Visual Aides

Best for making HR not look boring. Try Canva Magic Design or Beautiful.ai.

• Training Decks: Type in “Cybersecurity Training Presentation,” and Beautiful.ai builds the slides, layout, and stock photos. You just add the text.
• Internal Newsletters: Use Canva’s AI image generator to create custom graphics for your “Summer Picnic” flyer instead of recycling the same clip art.

4.The Analyst

Best for making sense of the noise. Try Excel’s Analyze Data feature or Chat with PDF.

• Survey Analysis: Upload anonymized engagement survey comments and ask, “What are the top three recurring themes in this feedback?”
• Policy Review: Upload a 50-page handbook into a Chat with PDF tool and ask, “Does this handbook mention bereavement leave for pets?” It finds the answer in seconds.

Safety First: Before You Roll These Out, Set Ground Rules

1. The PII Rule: If it identifies a human name, SSN, address, or medical information, it never touches AI. Period.

2. The Fact-Check Rule: AI hallucinates. It will confidently invent a labor law that doesn’t exist. Verify everything.

3. The Disclosure Rule: If you used AI to write a significant portion of a document, say so. Transparency builds trust.

4. The Compliance Rule: Always check with IT to confirm tools are sanctioned based on compliance regulations, such as SOC 2, that your company may be accountable to.

Okay, that was a lot. But if you’re hungry for more, check out some of the bigger pillars HR leaders are focusing on this year.

I hope this gets you on a safe and strategic path with AI in your workplace, Analog.

Stay resilient,

Ellie

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Elizabeth “Ellie” Tancreti is a seasoned HR consultant (and former Senior Recruiter, Onboarding/People and Culture Specialist) who’s faced the same challenges—and helps professionals like you get unstuck.

Bring your questions—on burnout, alignment, career pivots, leadership challenges, building culture, or any thorny questions keeping you up at night. Ask your question and get Ellie’s advice.

The information contained in this site is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.