Agentic AI Meets HR: Paychex Introduces WISE for SMBs

About this episode

The episode discusses the launch of Paychex Wise AI and its implications for payroll and HR technology in small businesses.

Agentic AI Meets HR: Paychex Introduces WISE for SMBs Host: Steve Boese and Trish Steed Guest: Ryan Bergstrom , Chief Product Officer at Paychex Summary On this episode of At Work in America , Steve Boese and Trish Steed are joined by Ryan Bergstrom to discuss the launch of Paychex Wise AI and what it means for the future of payroll, HR, and workforce technology. The conversation explores how AI is reshaping the small business experience by reducing administrative burden, surfacing real-time workforce insights, and helping organizations move from reactive processes to proactive decision-making. Ryan shares how Paychex is approaching AI through the lens of “augmented intelligence,” helping organizations streamline payroll, compliance, workforce management, and employee support while keeping humans firmly in the loop. The discussion highlights the growing pressure facing small and midsize businesses, from compliance complexity and workforce changes to tool sprawl and operational overload. The episode also dives into how agentic AI can help organizations identify anomalies, guide managers through next steps, and automate repetitive work without sacrificing trust, security, or…

People in this episode

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish Steed

Guest: Ryan Bergstrom

Topics covered

• AI in HR
• Payroll technology
• Small business challenges
• Workforce management
• Compliance
• Augmented intelligence

Keywords

• Agentic AI
• Paychex
• WISE
• small business
• workforce insights
• compliance
• administrative burden
• anomaly detection

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Paychex

Products: WISE

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