Key Points:

• People will be able to start work in AI experiences such as Anthropic, Google Gemini, OpenAI, and virtual voice assistants, while UKG’s system of action governs how work gets done
• Organizations can connect AI investments to the systems where work actually happens, building on AI momentum without creating another disconnected technology layer
• Employees get faster answers, managers optimize operations, and leaders anticipate labor, coverage, and compliance risks before they affect performance regardless of their preferred interface

Enterprise AI has moved quickly from experimentation to transformative outcomes with high expectations. The next enterprise challenge is ensuring AI scales responsibly by staying connected to the frontline workforce operations that keep the global economy moving. UKG, the AI-first Workforce Operating Platform for HR, payroll, and workforce management, today outlined a bold vision to help organizations close the gap between enterprise AI ambition and workforce reality.

With UKG^®, leaders, managers, and employees will be able to start work in the AI experiences they already use every day — including Anthropic, Google Gemini, OpenAI, and popular consumer voice assistants — while UKG’s Workforce Operating Platform provides the system of action that helps organizations keep their frontline work moving effectively.

"AI gives frontline workers agency over their entire lives, not just their work,” said Jennifer Morgan, CEO at UKG. “Now the frontline can get the flexibility, pay, benefits and schedules they need, right in the AI and app they already use every day. Empowered workers stay. With turnover costing U.S. businesses a staggering $1 trillion a year, businesses have the opportunity to unlock profitability by optimizing the needs of the workers in real time in the flow of work—a win-win."

For organizations, the opportunity is fewer moments where work gets stuck. Employees can get help faster. Managers can use real-time intelligence to optimize operations. Leaders can see where labor, coverage, and compliance risks are emerging to act before performance is impacted. That means more time focused on people, customers, and the work that matters most.

“The next phase of workforce AI is not just answering questions. It is helping work move forward,” said Suresh Vittal, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at UKG. “We are extending UKG so leaders, managers, and employees can make better decisions in the moment and act with confidence across dynamic work environments.”

“People are at the heart of any organization with a large frontline workforce” said Donna Morris, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Walmart and member of the UKG Board of Directors. “The real promise of AI is making work better for that workforce — taking friction out of everyday tasks so they can spend less time navigating processes and more time on what matters most: leading teams, building new skills and serving customers.”

A System of Action for the Agentic AI Era

UKG’s approach, known technically as a headless model, separates the engagement experience from the workforce system of action. Through Model Context Protocol tools, pre-built connectors, and other tools, approved AI experiences can access UKG capabilities, initiate actions, participate in workflows, and respond as workforce conditions change. UKG continues to apply enterprise rules, access controls, permissions, workflows, and business logic required for responsible execution.

The model helps customers build on their AI investments without creating another disconnected layer of workforce technology. It extends selected UKG capabilities into the AI experiences people already use, while UKG’s purpose-built applications remain essential for complex HR, payroll, and workforce management work.

“UKG is making a really smart choice by not forcing customers to make UKG or any single AI model the front door for work,” said R. “Ray” Wang, Principal Analyst and Founder of Constellation Research. “AI is moving too fast for that. Bold platform providers will let customers choose the AI experiences they trust. This is not a UX game. It is about closing the loop between intent, intelligence, workflow, and action — and that is where UKG is poised to leap ahead.”

Extending Workforce Operations Across the AI Ecosystem

The strategy builds on three foundational layers of the UKG Workforce Operating Platform:

• Workforce Experience, delivered through the next generation of UKG Bryte™, gives employees, managers, and leaders more natural and conversational ways to ask for what they need, get guidance, and take action in the flow of work.
• Workforce Intelligence, powered by Workforce Intelligence Hub, brings together workforce signals, benchmarks, labor market insights, and business context.
• Workforce AI turns intelligence into action through agentic workflows and intelligent automation across HR, payroll, and workforce management.

Together, these layers allow UKG to meet people where work increasingly begins while keeping action connected to the platform enterprises rely on to run their workforce.

UKG is used by more than 80,000 organizations across 150+ countries, including two-thirds of the Fortune 1000. More than 65 million employees rely on UKG to get work done. That reach places UKG at the center of workforce operations — where frontline reality, business needs, and workforce execution come together.

Supporting Resources

• Read Why the Future of Enterprise AI is about Action, by UKG Chief Product Officer Suresh Vittal.
• Did you hear the news? UKG is a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Workforce Management.
• Learn more about UKG and our leading global AI platform for HR, pay, and workforce management.
• Follow UKG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What did UKG announce on October 12, 2026?

UKG announced a vision to help organizations close the gap between enterprise AI ambition and workforce operations. Leaders, managers, and employees will be able to start work in AI experiences such as Anthropic, Google Gemini, OpenAI, and popular consumer voice assistants. The UKG Workforce Operating Platform serves as the system of action that governs how that work gets done.

What is a "system of action" for workforce AI?

In UKG's approach, a system of action is the layer that lets approved AI experiences access UKG capabilities, initiate actions, and participate in workflows as workforce conditions change. UKG continues to apply enterprise rules, access controls, permissions, workflows, and business logic so that work is executed responsibly.

What is UKG's headless model?

UKG's headless model separates the engagement experience from the workforce system of action. Through Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools, pre-built connectors, and other tools, selected UKG capabilities extend into the AI experiences people already use. This helps customers build on their AI investments without adding another disconnected layer of workforce technology.

Do organizations still need UKG applications?

Yes. UKG's purpose-built applications remain essential for complex HR, payroll, and workforce management work. The headless model extends selected UKG capabilities into other AI experiences and does not replace those applications.

How does this help employees, managers, and leaders?

Employees can get help faster. Managers can use real-time intelligence to optimize operations. Leaders can see where labor, coverage, and compliance risks are emerging so they can act before performance is affected.

What are the three layers of the UKG Workforce Operating Platform?

Workforce Experience, delivered through the next generation of UKG Bryte, gives people conversational ways to ask for what they need and take action. Workforce Intelligence, powered by Workforce Intelligence Hub, brings together workforce signals, benchmarks, labor market insights, and business context. Workforce AI turns intelligence into action through agentic workflows and intelligent automation across HR, payroll, and workforce management.

About UKG

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform with unified HR, payroll, and workforce management, built to solve the unique challenges of frontline work. Powered by people-first AI and decades of labor data, UKG turns workforce intelligence into real-time decisions around staffing, pay, compliance, and productivity, enabling every worker to confidently take action as work happens.

That’s why more than 80,000 organizations worldwide trust UKG to run their workforce — not just manage it. To learn more, visit ukg.com.

Copyright 2026 UKG Inc. All rights reserved. For a full list of UKG trademarks, please visit ukg.com/trademarks. All other trademarks, if any, are property of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change.

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