Workday Rising 2026: Workday's AI agents shift from copilots to autopilots

At Workday Rising 2026 in Las Vegas, Workday said its new AI agents operate as autopilots — working autonomously around the clock in the background, with humans brought in only for judgement calls. The company defines three levels of human involvement: in the loop for hiring and firing decisions, on the loop for expense approvals, and out of the loop for transaction and compliance checks.

• Workday calls its new agents autopilots, not copilots
• Humans stay in the loop for hiring and firing decisions
• Three tiers: in the loop, on the loop, out of the loop
• Every agent action is logged with data used and approver