HBHR aims to solve HR and Payroll woes with HRGenie Auto

HBHR (HealthBoxHR) has announced HRGenie Auto. The new Agentic AI capability further enhances its AI-powered, all-in-one workforce management platform for HR and Payroll. HRGenie Auto is a new feature of the embedded AI that delivers interactive intelligence into its HR platform. It is less a copilot assisting HR professionals and more an autopilot that takes over the controls, letting the HR user oversee what is happening as it takes the necessary actions based on the requirements in the moment.

HBHR also revealed data from a recent survey highlighting the importance of Agentic AI for payroll processes within the business.

What is HRGenie Auto

HBHR’s HRGenie is an intelligent solution that can handle complex tasks. For example, booking holidays, generating reports, scheduling shifts, managing payroll, and answering HR related queries. It can also deliver insights into trends, anomalies, and potential issues, with a mix of data visualisations and reports.

HRGenie Auto takes this a step further. It takes a user’s instruction, then demonstrates and walks the user through the appropriate screens in the system to complete the task. The user sees the exact process the digital worker follows. They can also learn or verify that the correct actions are undertaken. Importantly, this will help build trust in the platform. For staff unfamiliar with it, it also serves as a training guide for adoption.

That makes it a training instructor who helps people learn the system. The only question is what this means in the long term. Will people just use HRGenie Auto? Will they need to learn the platform, or will they use the Agentic AI?

HRGenie Auto is a colleague

It is a question that HBHR does not answer in their press release or accompanying blog. The blog does state, “The result is a platform that feels less like a system to be managed, and more like a capable colleague working alongside you.”

It will be interesting to see how quickly customers adopt the solution, and what it means for their HR teams in the medium/long term.

Callum Pennington, CEO and Co-Founder of HBHR, said: “The HRGenie has always been able to answer questions, complete tasks, and tell you where things are. But HRGenie Auto takes that a significant step further.

“Now, when you ask the platform something, it doesn’t just give you an answer. It takes over. That might sound like a small change. It isn’t.

“The biggest hidden cost in HR technology has never been the software itself, it’s the time spent learning it.

“With HRGenie Auto, the platform becomes the teacher. It shows people what to do, in the moment they need it, without anyone having to step in. This is what modern HR software should look like. Less like a system you have to learn and more like a colleague who just gets things done.”

New research highlights the employee concerns.

HBHR also commissioned a survey of 2,000 UK employees, conducted in February 2026, to understand why organisations should consider adopting Agentic AI within HR.

Within Payroll, Agentic AI can help organisations reduce financial loss. The survey found that 25% of employees reported that Payroll mistakes made it harder to afford rent, food, and energy bills. While this may seem high, a survey by Employee Hero found that 84% of small business owners have made errors in their Payroll.

For employees, this has meant that 1 in 5 have been unable to pay a bill. Additionally, a third have been unable to cover a bill due to a payroll error, and 31% were forced to borrow money to fill the gap. The survey did not indicate the source of the loan or whether.

An Ipsos UK for Fair4All Finance survey also found that one in five people are lending friends or family up to £250 to help pay for essentials like food, petrol and bills. Some of these were charged interest, further exacerbating their issue.

And the business risk is growing.

The impact is not confined to the employee. It impacts organisational loyalty and leads to an increase in employee churn. 61% of employees say they are likely to look for a new job, rising to 76% among Gen Z workers and 72% among millennials. The problem is not historical, with 23% saying they have spotted a mistake in

What the survey did not reveal is the nature of those errors and whether they were all detrimental to the employee. Though clearly, those are the ones they are more likely to be upset about. The employee hero survey noted several different issues on payroll errors, including:

• Error in the wage calculation – 48%
• Late/missing payments -38%
• Calculating hours incorrectly 36%

With the majority of the workforce now made up of Gen Z and millennials, employers’ risks are increasing. Only 29% of Gen Z and millennials feel confident about payroll accuracy. Baby boomers are more trusting, but only 43% are confident.

Other concerns about inaccurate Payroll include the implications for both the employer and the employee regarding incorrect PAYE information. And the situation may be about to get worse.

HMRC changes, but few are aware

HMRC are making significant changes to Payroll and tax from April 6^th 2026. The April 2026 issue of the Employer Bulletin includes many of these updates. Changes that should affect employees include changes to the minimum wage and the removal of the tax relief for non-reimbursed homeworking expenses.

Despite the impact of these changes, only 36% of employees say their employer has told them about them. Furthermore, 30% say they have received no communication at all. That is a concern for employees and might increase distrust in their employer. Perhaps the bigger concern is how many employers are unaware of the changes.

The research also found that employees have a clear expectation of their employers. 85% expect businesses to use modern payroll technology to minimise errors. Interestingly, employees seem to trust technology, with 72% saying that it underpins their confidence that pay will be accurate and on time. The message is clear: employees want employers to use modern payroll technology to deliver correct wage packets.

Giving employers additional tools

For employers, it is not just modern payroll technology. It is also technology, such as Agentic AI, that can help ensure accuracy in their payroll process. The benefits are properly implemented, and run technology can help build trust, increase retention, and reduce the risk of costly HMRC fines following incorrect payroll runs.

Pennington added: “Payroll has always been treated as a back-office function, but these numbers make it brutally clear that it now sits on the front line of the cost-of-living crisis. When employees are missing bills because their payslip is wrong, that is not a minor admin issue. It is a systemic failure.

“HMRC’s changes are a golden opportunity for businesses to assess and evolve their Payroll, but if they try to navigate this shift with spreadsheets or outdated systems, they risk pushing more employees into debt and driving out their best talent.”

Enterprise Times: What does this mean

HBHR embeds Agentic AI within its platform to benefit its customers and their employees. For firms looking to adopt new technology to support their Payroll, the firm will be exhibiting at HR Technologies UK 2026, taking place at Excel London on 29–30 April 2026.

The company will demonstrate HRGenie, and Luke Wignall, Sales Director, HBR, will talk on the “Future of Workforce”, on April 29th at 12:25–12:40 in Seminar Theatre C. He will explain how AI and real-time workforce data are transforming HR and Payroll, future-proofing compliance, improving efficiency, and enabling smarter decisions in an increasingly complex world.

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