Recorded on April 29th, 6PM Paris time
The Interview
In a recent live webinar hosted by Maki People, Max (CEO of Maki) sat down with Olivier Godement, Head of Product and Platform at OpenAI, for an engaging and candid conversation on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the HR function. What follows is a detailed summary of that discussion.
What has it been like working at OpenAI in these transformative times?
Olivier described working at OpenAI as a dream: fast-paced, aligned, and mission-driven. With no internal politics and a collective focus on building AGI to benefit humanity, the organization enables every team member to contribute to solving real challenges. In his role, Olivier leads the development of AI tools and models that empower startups and enterprises alike.
Why HR is primed for AI transformation
The discussion quickly turned to the role of AI in HR. Olivier emphasized that HR is a natural fit for AI: it's deeply human, complex, and data-rich. From sourcing and screening candidates to managing internal talent and workforce planning, AI can enhance both efficiency and quality. He highlighted how AI allows teams to scale personalized, high-quality interactions, especially in roles like recruiting or support where human bandwidth is limited.
Real-world impact: Maki People in action
Max shared several concrete examples of AI's impact through Maki's work. One major retail client operating in over 50 countries processed 1.5 million applications and saved over 250,000 hours of manual screening. This allowed HR teams to focus on value-adding tasks, while also improving candidate experience. Maki’s solutions also helped reduce attrition by up to 25% in some markets and accelerate hiring timelines by 3–4x.
Maki’s voice-based AI agent "Mochi" was spotlighted as a breakthrough: candidates can interact with Mochi, ask detailed questions, and get tailored responses based on the organization’s context. This not only scales the recruiter’s capacity, but also ensures consistent and high-quality communication at scale.
How to successfully drive AI adoption inside organizations
Olivier outlined two adoption strategies: bottom-up and top-down. In the bottom-up approach, empowered teams run small pilots and identify internal "makers" who drive experimentation. This method encourages quick iteration and localized innovation. The top-down model, on the other hand, starts with executive buy-in to tackle the biggest pain points. Success requires leadership support and, often, outside expertise.
He warned against a "wait-and-see" attitude. Drawing comparisons to the mobile and internet revolutions, Olivier emphasized that the companies that act early on AI will be the ones that thrive. The Duolingo CEO’s message, "We will be the first to teach languages with AI," captured that urgency.
SaaS is dead? The shift to AI-native platforms
Max referenced Satya Nadella’s declaration that "SaaS is dead" to explore the move from traditional tools to AI-native solutions. Olivier agreed, pointing out that the future lies in highly personalized, AI-driven systems. In this new paradigm, users won’t interact with rigid software; they’ll engage with intelligent agents that understand context and deliver tailored outputs in real time.
What’s next: HR in the age of intelligent agents
Olivier believes we’re heading toward a world where every employee has a "chief of staff"-style AI assistant. These agents will help with decisions, summarize complex data, and adapt to individual preferences. They won’t replace people—they’ll multiply their capacity and unlock new levels of impact across HR and beyond.
Final Thoughts
The conversation closed with gratitude and excitement. AI is moving fast, and for HR leaders ready to act, the moment is now. Maki People and OpenAI will continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible, helping organizations become not only more efficient, but more human.
Interested in learning more? Let’s have a chat!
