While some executives make the leap from human resources to CEO—General Motors CEO Mary Barra and former Dunkin’ Brands CEO Nigel Travis provide prominent examples—it’s still somewhat of a rarity.

But the arrival of Generative AI in the workplace could change everything, including the pathways to the C-Suite. Because the unlikely leader in the adoption and use of Generative AI is … human resources. As a result, what has traditionally been a rarity could become a lot less so.

It is not that GenAI will magically catapult more human resources chieftains into corner offices. It’s what the HR execs are doing with AI.

In a growing number of companies, the human resources team is leading the charge to integrate AI into corporate decision-making and operations. Rather than going along for the ride, they’re piloting the introduction. In fact, Julie Bedard, a managing director at Boston Consulting Group and an expert in organizations’ use of GenAI, estimates that among those that already have deployed AI, between 70% and 80% are using it in HR.

Human resources (HR) is the under-loved corporate function. Previously known as “personnel” in most organizations, traditionally HR has ranked below other management functions in corporate hierarchy.

This is unfortunate, because every organization’s success depends on the dedication, industriousness, intelligence, inventiveness, team-spiritedness and good-naturedness of its people. And HR in most organizations has been, and remains, responsible for finding, recruiting, onboarding, training, and (ideally) facilitating the growth and advancement of those people.

Over the years, as technology assumed a bigger role in the workplace, and as employment law became more expansive and complicated, the expectations on the HR function have steadily increased. HR leaders became actively involved in recruiting talent. They assumed responsibility for seeing that employment law and workplace safety requirements were observed. They played a critical role in training and development. DEI activities fell to them. In time, even the lexicon changed: “personnel” became “human resources” and the director, or VP, of personnel became the chief human resource officer (CHRO).