- OPM has directed agencies to expand AI adoption in federal hiring
- Four hiring functions are generally not considered high-impact AI use
- The 2026 FedCiv Summit will explore AI adoption, digital modernization and more
The Office of Personnel Management has issued a memorandum providing federal agencies with guidance on expanding their use of artificial intelligence throughout the hiring process, citing efficiency and quality concerns associated with limited AI adoption.
Federal agencies continue to weigh how emerging technology can reshape long-standing workforce and hiring practices across government. The Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 FedCiv Summit on Oct. 29 will bring together senior officials and executives to discuss AI adoption, digital labor, the OneGov strategy, digital modernization, federal shared services and more. Register now to gain firsthand insights from leaders shaping federal civilian tech priorities.
OPM said Thursday the memo aligns with Executive Order 14170 and the Merit Hiring Plan, which call for improved position descriptions and assessments and a reduced average time-to-hire of 80 days. The guidance aligns with the requirements outlined in an Office of Management and Budget memo governing federal use of AI.
Which AI Uses in Federal Hiring Does OPM Consider Generally Not High-Impact?
OPM identified four hiring functions it generally does not consider high-impact AI use, provided an authorized official independently reviews and adopts the output:
- Content development for job announcements — drafting position descriptions, evaluation statements and job analyses, when a responsible official independently reviews and adopts the material before use
- Decision-support for applicant evaluations — résumé screening and qualification review, when the deciding official independently reviews the underlying record rather than relying solely on the AI summary
- Pre-offer quality control — administrative completeness checks on a staffing case file, when the AI does not serve as the basis for approving, delaying or rejecting a selection
- Aggregate program evaluation — analysis of completed hiring actions, time-to-hire and assessment performance, when no individual employment decision turns on the output
What Is the High-Impact Standard OPM Uses to Assess AI Tools?
Under OMB M-25-21, agencies must treat an AI use as high-impact when its output serves as a principal basis for a decision or action with a legal, material, binding or significant effect on interests such as an individual’s access to employment. OPM said several hiring functions are presumed high-impact, including hiring and termination decisions, pay or promotion determinations, performance management, disciplinary actions and reassignments.
OPM said an AI output generally does not serve as a principal basis for a decision when an authorized official independently reviews the supporting data, evaluates the underlying reasoning and adopts the resulting work product. Where a presumed high-impact use remains high-impact, agencies must apply minimum risk management practices under M-25-21 or submit a documented waiver request to their agency’s chief AI officer.
What Did OPM CIO Adam Starr Say About AI Adoption in Federal Hiring?
Adam Starr, OPM’s chief information officer and a senior adviser, said agencies have been overly cautious about applying AI to hiring despite existing OMB guidance defining high-impact standards, Federal News Network reported.
“Too often, agencies were defaulting to the view that any use of AI in hiring was subject to the high-impact standard. In reality, that is not the case,” Starr wrote in a blog post. “Instead, the inclusion of AI as a complement to human judgment is not only acceptable but leads to better outcomes.”
FNN also reported that OPM does not intend to wait for new platform features before agencies begin expanding AI adoption, with new AI capabilities expected soon across USAJOBS, USA Staffing and USA Hire.
“We are not waiting. The path is clear. We are streamlining hiring to build a smoother experience for job seekers and a quicker, stronger hiring pipeline for managers. The American people deserve an efficient hiring process that utilizes AI to make sure that we get the right talent in the right seats. Today we are enabling that,” Starr added.
How Does the Memo Align With OPM’s Broader Modernization Agenda?
The guidance builds on a series of workforce initiatives OPM has advanced in recent months. In July, the agency launched the War Force recruiting initiative with the Department of War to bring more technologists into federal service, following NASA Force, a similar talent track introduced earlier in the year with NASA to recruit engineers and technical professionals for the nation’s space missions.
OPM has also moved to modernize the broader hiring process, issuing a final rule in January that replaced the “rule of three” with the rule of many, expanding candidate pools through skills-based assessments.
The memo further aligns with the agency’s Federal HR 2.0 initiative, which aims to consolidate legacy human resources systems, and its rollout of the HR Shared Service Center to centralize support across agencies. The push for modernization comes as a Government Accountability Office review recently flagged usability and data challenges with one of OPM’s existing workforce technology tools.
