Peter Bailis

Chief Technology Officer, Workday

Search every verified Peter Bailis interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Peter Bailis, Chief Technology Officer at Workday, has been discussing the company's strategy for "agentic AI" and its role in transforming enterprise workflows. In interviews and podcasts from late 2025 and early 2026, Bailis described agentic AI as a shift from simple prompts to models that can autonomously break down complex tasks into steps and execute them. He stated that Workday aims to become an "agent system of record," extending its existing role as a system for managing people and money to also govern AI agents within organizations. Bailis argued that without such governance, allowing unfettered AI access to internal systems risks data exfiltration and a lack of oversight. Bailis also discussed Workday's recent acquisitions, including the $1.1 billion purchase of Sana, which he called "the best enterprise search, best knowledge management platform on the market today," and the acquisition of Paradox, which he noted conducts "one interview on average per second." He emphasized Workday's approach of coupling AI models with core business processes, such as payroll, to make outcomes easier to achieve while keeping humans in control. Bailis stated that Workday has a dedicated responsible AI team separate from its engineering teams.