AI in the Workplace: EU Rules for When Humans and Bots Team Up

Since ChatGPT launched in 2022, AI tools have become common in the workplace. McKinsey's January 2025 research shows that 94% of employees and 99% of C-suite leaders now use generative AI tools. However, managers significantly underestimate actual employee usage. Beyond approved solutions like Microsoft Copilot or business versions of ChatGPT, many employees use unauthorized AI tools that employers would prefer to avoid.

With such mismatch, it is not surprising that employees long for more guidance and training. While many organizations have created basic AI policies, but generic frameworks often fail to address the nuanced legal obligations now in force under the EU AI Act.

At the same time, many companies use AI tools for HR tasks: recruitment, performance reviews, promotions, terminations, job descriptions, and employee communication. These powerful AI tools can significantly impact employees, reason why many AI-tools in HR are considered “high risk” AI-systems under the AI Act, subjecting employers to robust transparency, documentation, and human oversight requirements. Certain applications are prohibited entirely.

Join Crowell & Moring on 24 November 2025 for a practical examination of the AI Act's impact on employment law: managing both employee-initiated AI use (authorized and shadow IT) and employer-deployed HR technologies. This action-oriented session will clarify Belgian employers' compliance obligations, helping you unlock AI's efficiency benefits while avoiding regulatory exposure.