What we learnt from Workday Rising 2025: Workday’s next leap in AI
Workday Rising 2025 brought together thousands of customers, partners and leaders, and this year was a special celebration. As Workday celebrated their 20th birthday, they revealed their latest product roadmap, innovations, and most importantly, new AI advancements. The focus this year was all about AI in action, showcasing how Workday is turning the AI ‘hype’ into real ROI & business outcomes.
Workday’s message is clear: their goal isn’t to just make AI work for people, it’s to make it work with them. They are helping businesses move forward faster by creating a genuine connection between humans and AI, not one where people are filled with confusion or fear of being replaced. Their new framework encourages teams to manage both people and AI agents in harmony, a real step towards the future of work.
Workday Rising gave us plenty to think about, and wow, there’s a lot to unpack! So, let’s talk you through the main insights and moments that really stood out…
AI with Purpose: Connecting People, Data & Technology
This isn’t just about adopting AI. Workday is building a smarter, more connected ecosystem that brings people, data, and technology together. Rather than chasing quick fixes, they’re focused on creating practical AI tools that deliver real business impact over the next 12–18 months.
Here are the ones you should be paying attention to...
AI Agents
Today’s workforce looks a little different - it’s a mix of full-time employees, contractors, frontline staff, and now AI agents. These “digital workers” are stepping in to handle the repetitive stuff, surface insights faster, and give people the space to focus on the work that really matters.
HR agents
The world of HR is getting a serious upgrade. These new HR agents aren’t here to replace people, they’re here to make work feel better. They’ll improve talent and workforce management, from automating performance reviews to analysing employee sentiment and building job architectures.
Who’s joining the team?:
- Business Copilot Agent – your behind-the-scenes problem solver that automates new business process setup.
- Case agent – the fast thinker, jumping in to speed up issue resolution and keep employees supported.
- Document intelligence (contingent labour) – the organiser, speeds up SOW and contract management so contingent labour runs smoothly.
- Performance and sentiment agents – the team’s listeners and analysts, turning employee data into real insights that help leaders see what’s working, and what’s not.
Finance agents
When it comes to finance, speed, accuracy, and visibility are everything, and that’s exactly where Workday’s Finance Agents come in. Think of them as your digital finance partners, working around the clock to make reporting smoother, audits faster, and insights clearer than ever.
Here’s what they bring to the table:
- Cost and performance agent – they deliver real-time margin insights in natural language.
- Financial close agent – the perfect time saver that automates close processes for faster reporting.
- Financial test agent – continuously scanning for errors and potential fraud before they become real problems.
The measurable results of existing agents:
- Agents decrease contract execution time by 65%.
- Frontline agents have reduced personnel change by 90%.
- Teams are saving up to 900 hours a year through automated audits.
- Payroll now runs 4x faster.
- General Motors cut screening time by 70% with the Recruiter Agent.
- And the Talent Mobility Agent? It’s cutting huge costs for businesses, while keeping top talent engaged.
This gives businesses the agility and intelligence to make smarter decisions in a constantly evolving world. Humans and AI can now collaborate seamlessly to enhance growth and innovation.
Workday Flex Credits
Workday is consistently evolving and adapting with AI. They’ve recently introduced Workday Flex Credits, which they describe as “the new world of work”. Designed specifically to manage people, money, and AI agents, this technology is built to integrate deeply into business operations to deliver real, measurable results. It doesn’t just automate, it understands the why behind all actions.
How it works:
Workday Flex Credits are designed to make innovation as simple and flexible as possible. Think of it like a digital wallet for AI and platform innovation, giving businesses the freedom to scale at their own pace.
- Prepaid flexibility - Purchase credits in advance based on how much you expect to use.
- Use what you need - Credits are only applied when features are activated, so you’re paying for real value, not unused potential.
- Scale as you grow – You have the ability to add more credit at any time, adopt new AI agents as they are released, and scale usage across teams and regions.
- Annual reset - Credits get renewed on a predictable subscription cycle, with complementary credits included each year.
Acquiring Intelligence: Expanding the AI Ecosystem
2025 was a year filled with many major acquisitions for Workday, with a focus on strengthening its AI platform and agent technology experiences. The moves they’ve made this year are allowing them to integrate advanced learning, talent intelligence, and agent-building solutions across their HR and finance offering.
The three standout acquisitions: Sana Labs, Paradox, and Flowise. These mark a significant leap forward. Together, they’re helping Workday evolve from a traditional HCM platform into an open, intelligent AI agent ecosystem
These strategic moves position Workday as a leader in “system of action” AI throughout HR and finance. Although smaller additional partnerships may appear along the way, for now the focus is on three core acquisitions that are transforming Workday from an HCM platform into an open, AI agent ecosystem.
Conclusion
Final thoughts on Workday Rising 2025? This was a glimpse into the future - humans and AI working together, not against one another. Workday has proven that they are not just talking about innovation, they’re building it. They’re turning AI from a feared and abstract concept into something practical, measurable, and most importantly, human.
For us at Focus Cloud Group, it means new opportunities for the businesses and people we work with. The next chapter of Workday is about connection: between people, data, and intelligent technology that helps everyone perform at their best.
The future of work is already here, and Focus Cloud is helping the Workday community make the most of it.
As the Workday recruitment experts, whether you’re driving transformation or growing your career, we connect you with the right people, projects, and opportunities to help you thrive in the ecosystem.
Get in touch today - let’s shape what’s next, together.
