Last week, Indeed served as the founding partner of the inaugural Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit. The event brought together senior HR and business leaders from Fortune 1000 companies to explore how AI, workforce expectations, and evolving definitions of talent are shaping the future of work.

As a leading global hiring platform, we see firsthand what’s changing—and what may lie ahead. At Indeed, we believe that HR–and hiring–in the age of AI must be more human, not less. It’s why we remain focused on helping employers navigate this transformation and helping people get jobs in a world that’s changing faster than ever.

Here are four takeaways from the conversations we helped spark:

1. AI Is Transforming Jobs—Not Replacing Them

In a mainstage conversation titled “Reprogramming the Workforce: AI’s Impact on Jobs & Learning,” Indeed CEO Chris Hyams joined OpenAI Chief People Officer Julia Villagra and Fortune’s Andrew Nusca to discuss AI’s impact on the workforce. 

Citing Indeed Hiring Lab’s research, Hyams emphasized that AI is more likely to transform jobs than replace them outright. “There’s not a single job anywhere that AI can perform all of the skills required for that job,” he said. “It doesn’t mean it won’t replace workers, but AI can’t completely replace a job.”

Still, change is coming fast. According to Hyams, “pretty much every job—if it’s not changing already—is going to change. And it’s going to happen rapidly. So, what we’re seeing is that people are going to have to adapt very, very quickly to how they work, but also how they hire and how they find jobs.”

2. Workforce Will Remain Strong—But Evolve

While some predict that AI will shrink the labor market, Hyams offered a different perspective: “I may be in the minority, but I disagree with the concept of fewer people in the workforce.” 

While economic volatility may lead to cost-cutting in the short term, Hyams expects a familiar pattern to re-emerge: technology ultimately enables more work, not less. “Just like every other technological advancement over the last 400 years, we’re going to be able to do so much more.” 

At the same time, demographic shifts are tightening the labor market globally, making human capital more critical than ever. “We’re in a race between the shrinking labor force and AI being able to help us catch up and solve all the problems we need to catch up,” he added.

3. AI Adoption Works Best from the Bottom Up

Hyams also offered a candid view into how AI tools have been most effectively adopted inside Indeed—through organic, peer-led advocacy.

He described how one engineer, Bob, began experimenting with AI coding tools on his own and shared video demos with teammates. His internal championing helped drive AI adoption far more effectively than company mandates.

“When something comes from top down it seems like management wants you to do this because it’s going to be good for the company,” said Hyams. “What you really want is this: it’s going to make your life so much better. I think that finding the champions, giving people a chance to find out what works for them and letting them be the spokespeople has been so much more effective for us.”

4. Skills-First Hiring Is the Future of Talent Strategy

In a breakout session titled “Skills, Will & Wellbeing: An Integrated Framework,” Indeed Chief People & Sustainability Officer LaFawn Davis joined Fortune’s Kristin Stoller and Byron Auguste, CEO of Opportunity@Work, to spotlight the power of skills-first hiring.

Davis noted that employers should be more open to hiring candidates who are skilled through alternative routes (STARs). “College is a great way to gain skills—but it is not the only way,” she said. 

Indeed’s data reinforces that opportunity: when employers consider job seekers based on skills alone, their potential candidate pool is 2.6 times larger compared to when they filter for prior industry experience. Yet, despite this, employers are still 25% less likely to move forward with candidates who have demonstrated skills but lack traditional experience.1

To close today’s talent gaps, hiring teams must evolve their practices, starting with rethinking the job description and leveraging AI through platforms like Indeed to source candidates based on skills.  

“It’s a movement,” Davis noted. “Thinking of skills first is the future.”

Source

1 Indeed data (US)