Despite the rapid proliferation of emerging tech like AI agents in the HR technology market, purchasing and implementation are not speeding ahead as quickly.

That was the consensus at the HR Tech Meetup in New York City on Thursday, hosted by the organizers of the HR Tech conference, planned for Sept. 16-18 in Las Vegas. The event brought together HR practitioners with tech developers and executives to explore the pressing issues shaping the HR tech market today.

Among them, said speaker George LaRocque—founder of WorkTech, who led the discussion with Aptitude Research founder and chief analyst Madeline Laurano, is a frustration shared by many in the vendor community.

“On the one hand, everything is moving really quickly,” he said. “But on the other, it also feels very stuck.”

An overwhelming HR tech market

What’s dragging down HR tech buying and rollouts?

LaRocque said the speed at which AI is evolving is a factor in the bottlenecks. Organizations are saying they want to integrate AI into their HR processes, but the strategic work needed to do so is often lacking.

“There’s a lot of hype and excitement around AI that is warranted, but when you look up from the buyer’s seat, they tend to get overwhelmed,” he said. “There’s so much happening and they need to approach the [buying] process with a strategy.”

One session participant noted AI is presenting a “double-edged sword” for tech vendors: HR wants the “shiny new object” but doesn’t quite know what they want the tech to do and also doesn’t have underlying structures, like an AI committee or ethics policies, to support its rollout.

“We now have a lot of new legal and privacy questions when AI is involved,” Laurano added.

HR tech buyers are also encountering pressure from the top on budgets and an increasingly uncertain economy, making it challenging to know how to “pick the right tech while things are moving so quickly,” LaRocque said. However, he emphasized, buyers should prioritize their buying strategy over their buying speed.

“We need to be approaching the market,” he said, “with an understanding that we’re not going to miss the boat if we don’t select that very tool this month.”

Given this environment, vendors should lean into transparency, LaRocque added.

“HR is navigating a challenging terrain. The more you tell buyers when you begin conversations, the better experience they’re going to have.”

Related: Our next HR Tech Meetup takes place April 29 in Boston. Learn more and register.