Latest Industry Insights

Let’s address the elephant in the room. With AI avatars conducting first-round interviews, algorithms predicting candidate success, and automated sourcing becoming the norm, it is easy to assume that the role of HR and recruitment is shrinking.

A great retail brand has always relied on a mix of product, price, experience and storytelling. But if AI agents start playing a bigger role in how consumers search, compare and buy, retailers may need to rethink more than just their marketing.

AI is no longer a “someday” topic for retailers. It’s here in everyday conversations – from personalisation and loyalty to demand forecasting and workforce planning. Most retailers I speak with know this. They’re reading the reports, talking to vendors, and running small pilots.

Most AI rollouts don’t fail because the tool is bad. They stall because the organisation never builds an adoption system around it. People try it once, feel unsure, worry about risk, then default back to “the way we’ve always done it” the minute things get busy. If you’re hearing “we trained everyone” but you’re not seeing behaviour change, this is why.

If you read or heard anything about Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang today, you probably saw the quote that’s now everywhere in the talent world: “You’re not going to lose your job to AI—but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI.”

For boards across Australia and beyond, the question is no longer if AI will reshape their business—it’s how fast and how well they can lead that transformation.