HRTech Interview with Aaron Goldsmid, Head of Product at Deel

Welcome to HRTech Cube, Aaron! We’re delighted to have you. To start, could you please share a bit about your professional journey and what led you to your role as Head of Product at Deel?
Throughout my career journey, I’ve had a front-row seat to major innovations at companies including Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Twilio and now Deel in product and growth roles. A common theme across my 20 years of experience is that I’ve been fortunate enough to work for interesting companies, during interesting periods, building interesting products. Operating to hyperscale is one of my passions, and I found no better place to rapidly scale than here at Deel. At Deel, I’ve been able to truly embrace the approach I take to building products — simplifying complex systems to make them more accessible.

Deel just announced its AI Workforce. Can you walk us through the inspiration behind building an integrated hub for AI agents on the Deel platform?
The wave of AI adoption is hitting every company across every industry. Business leaders are tasked not only with navigating new technology but also with finding the best way to streamline and implement it within their organizations. At Deel, we aimed to provide a solution that was not only seamless but also rapidly deployable and easily embedded within systems that users are already familiar with. AI agents are marking a significant turning point for global work, pushing beyond automation to free up HR teams to focus more on creativity, ideas, talent, and opportunities that drive their business forward.

Payroll and HR teams are often stretched thin. How does Deel AI Workforce specifically address the resource challenges highlighted in SHRM’s latest Workforce Report?
As payroll and HR teams continue to face more demands while they’re already understaffed, Deel AI Workforce is designed to address these challenges head-on. With Deel AI, HR leaders can spend less time managing admin-heavy tasks, such as approvals, and instead suggest actions in areas like recruitment, surfacing information to leaders to make smarter, real-time decisions. Deel AI provides accurate answers to complex workforce questions, eliminating knowledge delays while ensuring consistency, and enabling support teams to focus on strategic guidance rather than repetitive tasks.

Deel AI Workforce introduces seven specialized AI agents. Which one do you see making the most immediate impact for HR leaders, and why?
That’s a great question! It really depends entirely on what’s keeping an HR leader up at night. For companies scaling fast, The Hiring Guru eliminates weeks from the decision process. For global teams, The Border Buddy prevents compliance nightmares that could cost millions. For stretched teams managing high-volume admin, The PTO Fairy and The Payroll Detective eliminate the bottlenecks that slow everything down. What we’re hearing from beta customers is that the immediate impact comes from deploying the agent that addresses their highest-friction problem, and that’s different for every business. However, this is exactly why we developed a suite of specialized agents rather than a single, general-purpose tool.

Compliance is a big concern in global hiring. How does the Border Buddy agent help companies manage “work from anywhere” setups more confidently?
One of the most challenging tasks for HR teams managing a global workforce is keeping up with a myriad of local tax rules and regulations. Compliance is key when managing payroll anywhere. Staying updated on multiple regulations across country lines only increases the difficulty and importance of getting it right. This is where Deel’s AI agent, The Border Buddy, comes into play, alleviating this pressure. The Border Buddy is a compliance agent that geolocates IP addresses and compares them to local tax rules to keep “work from anywhere” arrangements compliant.

Early in my career, I believed that achieving goals at all costs was what mattered. What I learned at companies like Twitter and Facebook is that how you hit those goals matters just as much. Investing in relationships and explaining your ‘why’ from the outset isn’t just about soft skills; it’s what enables you to move quickly without burning bridges.

Many companies struggle with payroll errors. Can you share how the The Payroll Detective ensures greater accuracy and trust in payouts?
Payroll processes are complex, and multiple variables are considered before paychecks are issued to employees. Compensation calculation, tax withholding/compliance, benefits and deductions, record-keeping, and reporting/filing are all aspects that payroll managers need to consider before finalizing pay. It can be overwhelming to stay on top of all these factors, and any mistake can easily turn into a very costly one. Deel’s Payroll Detective helps give payroll managers peace of mind by reviewing every variable and flagging anything past set thresholds. The Payroll Detective is always on the clock and automatically runs checks, allowing companies to pay with confidence and trust.

Beyond efficiency, what role do you see AI agents playing in improving the employee experience across hiring, PTO, and offboarding?
In addition to minimizing time spent on administrative tasks, AI also enables HR teams to provide personalized experiences for every employee. When teams are understaffed and stressed, this kind of customized approach typically falls through the cracks. With the help of AI, HR teams can create customized onboarding plans, career roadmaps, and tailor training content to meet the individual needs of each employee. AI helps managers free up their time, allowing them to focus more on initiatives that benefit talent development and business growth. AI is opening the door for HR teams to focus on what matters most: the human elements of their role.

On a personal level, what’s your approach or strategy as a product leader when it comes to balancing innovation with user trust in emerging tech like AI?
Something that really energizes me about product strategy is the ability to create something valuable and make it accessible to everyone. I found that this not only applies to the products we build for customers but also to the way we build trust among users. As humans, the way we process information, solve problems, and respond to needs has remained relatively unchanged for thousands of years. While addressing client needs at a rapid speed is always the goal, building products that address these intrinsic human instincts creates solutions that not only eliminate friction but also ensure people will actually use them. As AI is fundamentally changing the way businesses operate, product leaders must build their solutions with the end user in mind.

For HR leaders and business executives exploring AI for the first time, what’s one piece of advice you’d offer to make adoption smoother and more impactful?
My biggest piece of advice for HR leaders is to establish the proper guardrails and treat AI as a force multiplier for your team, not a replacement. HR leaders should leverage AI to automate repetitive administrative tasks that drain their team’s capacity, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives that truly move the business forward. However, maintain firm human oversight on high-stakes decisions like promotions, terminations, and compensation changes, where context and judgment matter more than pattern recognition. Additionally, ensuring company data security and privacy can’t be overlooked. Companies should build AI systems in sandboxed environments and restrict them to the company’s own data to prevent information leakage between organizations.

Finally, looking ahead, what are your closing thoughts on the role AI will play in shaping the future of HR and payroll?
AI is proving to be a true game-changer in alleviating administrative responsibilities and pressure within HR and payroll teams. AI agents can handle tedious routine tasks while HR leaders supercharge their strategic value and focus on initiatives that drive business growth, like developing talent and driving employee engagement. AI isn’t about replacing workers; it’s about bringing the human element of HR to the forefront. HR leaders will continue to find ways to maximize their time and spend more of it on the strategic empathetic work that only humans can do, all while maintaining oversight of AI-supported work.