Chemist Warehouse runs AI on HR shared inbox

Chemist Warehouse is running AI on a shared email inbox for human resources queries from its 30,000 employees and store owners, using it to detect certain questions and draft responses that the HR team can then tweak and send.

Image credit: Chemist Warehouse/Microsoft.

The discount pharmacy chain deployed AIHRA - AI HR Advisory - on the shared inbox “at the start of 2025” after a 10-week build, and has iterated on that initial deployment in fortnightly cycles.

“She” - as the HR team refers to the AI - “has progressed from ‘baby AIHRA’ to ‘intern AIHRA’ over the course of the year, human resources business partner Jessi Barberio will say in a case study to be published by Microsoft today.

“AIHRA integrates with third party data sources like Fair Work Australia to access modern award instruments applicable to our industry and enterprise bargaining agreements, as well as internal policies and procedures,” Barberio said.

“She’s built to answer various low-to-moderate-risk topics, like leave matters, probation period management, informal performance conversations, management of inactive casual employees and more.

“Within 30 seconds of a request reaching the national inbox, AIHRA is working hard in the background to draft a response. 

“The draft waits for an [HR] advisor to review, and any relevant policies or forms are automatically attached”, before the advisor sends the email to the staffer or store owner.

Chemist Warehouse has estimated it will save the HR advisory team of six “about 1950 hours a year”.

The team receives and handles “up to 300 email queries a week, “ including investigations, grievances, and policy and award interpretations,” head of people and culture advisory Melissa Bear said.

Barberio said it had “taken time to train the system and learn how to extract results”, but the company’s decision to go public with the development suggests it is realising appropriate value.

AIHRA was built with Microsoft partner Insurgence AI and uses Microsoft Azure AI Foundry with the Power Platform.

The case study notes that more broadly, Chemist Warehouse “is implementing a systematic approach to AI that balances long-term governance with immediate business impact.”

“This approach involves establishing a scalable framework for AI governance that evolves with the organisation’s maturity, while simultaneously enabling rapid value capture across various business units,” it states.

“By targeting high-feasibility, high-value use cases, the team is already seeing quick wins that remain aligned to long-term strategic goals.”