HR tech just got a serious upgrade. Applaud, known for its employee-led HR service delivery suite, has launched Release 16—“Aldwych”, and it’s not just another chatbot. It’s a bold leap into agentic AI, where the system doesn’t just answer questions—it gets things done.
Need to book time off in Workday, check your PTO balance, update your address, or raise a ticket with IT? Aldwych can handle all of it—without users needing to bounce between apps, fill out forms, or wait for HR to catch up.
What’s New: AI That Acts, Not Just Chats
Aldwych turns any conversational interface—whether browser, mobile, Teams, or Slack—into a command center for employees and managers. Instead of pointing to where tasks can be done, it does the tasks, using a combination of natural language understanding and orchestration across systems.
From a single chat prompt, users can:
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View real-time leave balances
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Book vacations directly in Workday
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Raise HR or IT cases in Applaud or external ITSM platforms
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Update personal information
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Trigger any other workflow HR wants to support
Why It Matters: Killing the HR Ticket One Action at a Time
For years, HR tech has been focused on surfacing answers—FAQs, knowledge base articles, and endless links. Aldwych raises the bar by collapsing that final mile: the doing. It’s a subtle but powerful shift. In today’s always-on workplace, time spent navigating internal tools is time lost. Applaud’s AI layer cuts through the clutter, meeting people where they are with instant, action-ready experiences.
HR gets the win too. Instead of chasing down requests or managing repetitive cases, teams can focus on high-value, strategic initiatives. Think less “how do I reset my password?” and more “how do we retain our top talent?”
Plug-and-Play HR Automation
Powering all of this is Applaud’s no-code Creator Platform, which allows HRIS teams to drag-and-drop new actions, link external systems, and define workflows in minutes. Want Aldwych to update a user’s bank details in ADP? Log equipment issues in ServiceNow? It’s just another module.
This kind of flexibility previously required complex integrations and IT intervention. Now, HR owns it—without code, without friction.
A Future Built on Agentic AI
Aldwych is more than just a release name—it’s the foundation of Applaud’s agentic AI roadmap, where the goal is simple but ambitious: let AI resolve routine HR cases from end to end. No escalation needed. No swivel-chairing between tools.
Ivan Harding, Applaud CEO, summed it up best:
“Employees get what they need, HR regains precious hours, and the business benefits from work that simply flows.”
It’s a nod to what modern HR should be—invisible when it works, invaluable when it’s needed.
Applaud Aldwych isn’t just answering the call for better HR support—it’s picking up the phone, resolving the issue, and hanging up, all before HR even logs in. For businesses chasing speed, simplicity, and scale in employee services, it’s a major step forward.
