The Human Element

Succession planning remains one of the most persistent challenges in talent strategy.

Too often, it’s reactive, prompted by an unexpected departure or guided by informal networks and subjective notions of “culture fit,” rather than objective data and future business needs.

And the data reflects that gap: while 86% of leaders say succession planning is an urgent or important priority, only 14% believe their organization does it well.

What’s changing is the role AI plays in augmenting human judgment. AI can provide deeper insight, wider organizational visibility, and data-driven precision that helps leaders make smarter, faster talent decisions. For example, AI can identify organizational bottlenecks by analyzing span of control, team composition, and workload distribution, enabling HR and business leaders to restructure teams proactively and improve efficiency without compromising agility or employee experience.

It’s a natural evolution of HR’s mission: investing in people and enabling growth, now with smarter tools and stronger data.

Let’s explore how AI is reshaping succession planning.

Can AI Help You Predict Leadership Gaps Before They Happen?

The most effective HR organizations are shifting from vacancy response to vacancy readiness, anticipating leadership needs well before roles are vacated.

With predictive analytics, HR teams can model future talent gaps based on concrete business variables: growth projections, attrition patterns, span-of-control data, and evolving organizational design. This represents a move away from intuition-based bench planning toward evidence-based, scenario-driven workforce strategies.

As Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, CIO at ManpowerGroup, puts it, good succession planning “ensures continuity, preserves institutional knowledge, and often propels an organization to new heights.” Poor planning, by contrast, can introduce avoidable disruption and uncertainty.

AI plays a dual role here. First, it flags early indicators of leadership risk, such as teams with low internal mobility, overloaded managers, or declining engagement scores. Second, it automates repetitive elements of talent acquisition, like generating job descriptions, screening resumes, and scheduling interviews, freeing up HR to focus on fit, culture alignment, and strategic talent decisions.

That’s why 64% of HR teams using AI are using it in talent acquisition, according to SHRM. It’s not just a workflow upgrade. It’s a strategic one.

Succession planning that relies on gut instinct or subjective endorsement can reinforce sameness and shut out deserving talent. And here’s the hard part: the traditional approach to succession often favors familiarity over readiness. People who "look the part" get promoted. AI doesn't fix that by default, but it can push back. If you train models on the right data, performance signals, growth indicators, actual outcomes, you start to see a more complete picture of who’s ready to lead, not just who’s visible.

Keep in mind that succession planning doesn’t get easier with AI. It gets smarter. And for organizations willing to evolve how they assess readiness and potential, this shift is essential.

How AI Is Shaping Career Pathways That Align Talent with Business Strategy

Career development is no longer a perk; it’s a core business strategy. Research shows that organizations that invest in career development consistently outperform peers on critical business metrics. Plus, a focus on leadership growth translates to innovation—these companies are 42% more likely to be early adopters of generative AI than their peers. Let’s look at how you 

AI enables more personalized, data-driven growth paths by recommending training, coaching, and stretch assignments that align with evolving organizational priorities.

When an employee asks, “How do I get promoted here?” AI can help provide a clear, skills-based answer that’s grounded in performance data, role requirements, and internal mobility patterns.

It can also forecast future skills based on internal workforce data and external market trends—allowing HR to upskill teams before talent shortages arise. In a recent SHRM study, 43% of HR professionals using AI said it was most valuable in learning and development.

This helps companies build a succession strategy that is both employee-centric and business-aligned.

Put It Into Practice

1. Map Critical Roles to Future Skills. Identify key roles likely to evolve in the next 12–24 months. Use workforce data to assess whether current career paths build the skills those roles will require.

2. Pilot AI-Driven Development Plans. Test AI-generated training and stretch assignment paths with a small group of high-potential talent. Track engagement, promotion rates, and retention to evaluate impact.

Building a Responsive, Inclusive Leadership Bench—at Scale

Retention of high-potential employees hinges on two things: feeling seen, and feeling invested in. AI can strengthen both.

Sentiment analysis can identify emerging concerns, burnout signals, and engagement dips before they lead to attrition. AI-generated messages can also help managers deliver more thoughtful, encouraging communications. In fact, research shows employees feel more heard by AI-generated affirmations than human-written ones.

With this insight, HR leaders can design targeted interventions, whether it’s a career conversation, a development opportunity, or a well-timed recognition moment. At scale, this creates a more responsive and inclusive approach to building the next generation of leaders.

Try this AI prompt: "Act as an HR strategist. Based on the following data [attrition by department, engagement survey highlights, span of control, etc.] suggest where I may have emerging leadership gaps and how I can proactively address them."

The CHRO Mandate: Build a System That Builds Leaders

Every day without a ready successor is a day of risk: missed revenue, lost momentum, and leadership drift. AI gives CHROs the ability to lead succession planning with foresight and intentionality, shaping not just who leads next, but how the organization evolves.

This isn’t just about adopting new tools. It’s about designing systems that scale human potential.

The next generation of leaders is already within your organization. With the right intelligence in place, you won’t just find them; you’ll help them thrive.

To learn more about the power of AI for HR leaders, check out our additional resources.