Observations From HR Tech 2025

I’m in Las Vegas this week for HR Tech, the annual gathering of the companies building the technologies reshaping HR and recruiting. On the floor, vendors are sizing each other up for partnerships and deals while buyers hunt for solutions and try to snag the branded LEGO sets at the booths. It’s my first time back in over a decade, and it feels different. The last time I was here, it felt like a crowd of companies scrambling for attention. The ecosystem has matured since then, and it now feels more like a true industry.

My week has been packed with briefings. Every company here is touting its latest AI features or products. Every AI startup (and all the startups here are AI startups) is trying to stand out from the crowd and every incumbent is threading AI into their existing product. If I had a dollar for every time I heard “agentic AI” in the analyst room, I could buy the entire conference.

Size matters

HR and TA technology have always been about information on candidates and employees. In the era of data-hungry LLMs, that already valuable data matters even more. We’re shifting from judging products by UX and features to treating those as table stakes. The differentiator will be who controls the most complete, connected, and trustworthy dataset, because better data powers AI that makes more informed suggestions and decisions.

That is where the largest platforms hold a natural advantage. They sit on end-to-end data, from requisitions and applications to performance and workforce outcomes.

Because of this, the major ERP players feel well-positioned, and are in the middle of a buying spree of the best of breed recruiting solutions to consolidate and extend that lead. SAP closed its acquisition of SmartRecruiters last week. Workday just announced a deal for Sana Labs, an AI-native learning platform, which follows its not-yet-closed deal for Paradox.

Adoption lags the hype

Official briefings tend to stay on message. The real story shows up off the record, over a drink, or when you run into someone you have known for years. Anecdotally, I am hearing a lot of frustration about the pace of AI adoption. Budgets are tight. Some buyers worry about what these tools mean for their own jobs. Others are not convinced the newest products deliver the promised results or they are simply overwhelmed by options that sound the same. None of that stops deals, but it slows them down.

I’ll be sharing some more thoughts in next week’s newsletter.

— David

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Conferences

ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit

San Diego, CA

November 4-5, 2025

The ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit is the premier independent, practitioner-led event designed to deliver actionable insights for talent acquisition professionals. Join your peers to explore practical ideas, proven best practices, and case study solutions from leaders who are tackling the same recruiting challenges as you.

The full agenda is now live—see what’s in store and start planning your experience.

(ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit)

Webinars

Unleash Creativity with AI for Talent Acquisition

October 15, 2025 | 2:00 PM EDT | 1 Hour

Rediscover the creative side of recruiting in this interactive, 1-hour webinar built specifically for Talent Acquisition teams. Led by award-winning sourcer and Riot Games recruitment partner Alla Pavlova, this session goes beyond the AI basics to spark imagination, boost productivity, and bring some fun back into your workflow. (ERE)