Last updated 08-09-2026
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Zia | Zoho People
Zia is the built-in human resources assistant inside Zoho People that answers employee questions, runs HR tasks, and pulls reports through chat or voice. Instead of filing tickets for leave balances or policy lookups, staff talk to Zia while role permissions keep sensitive data scoped to what each person may see.
Standalone HR chatbots usually sit beside your HRIS and need custom integrations. Zia is woven through Zoho People's modules (onboarding, leave, performance, LMS, files, analytics), so a conversation can jump from summarizing a handbook to filing leave or opening the right settings screen without exporting data elsewhere.
You can route AI through Zoho's own ZKS model hosted in Zoho data centers or bring your own API keys for third-party models. The assistant supports multilingual prompts, voice commands, policy summarization, an HR writing helper, help desk case visibility, and visual workforce analytics. A mobile app mirrors the same capabilities for field and remote staff.
Zoho People pricing starts with a free edition and paid tiers from $1.25 per user per month (Essential HR, billed annually), each including the Zia bot. A 30-day trial covers full plan features with no credit card required.
NLP turns chat or voice requests into real HR tasks inside Zoho People
Essential HR tier includes Zia starting at $1.25 per user per month when billed annually
Role-based governance limits each user to records their Zoho People permissions allow
Instant policy summarization condenses long handbook documents into short overviews
Smart leave planning shows balances, policies, and staffing coverage before time off is booked
Choose Zoho Key System hosting or bring your own API keys for third-party models
HR help desk insights surface open cases, statuses, and escalations in one view
Native integration across Zoho People modules avoids bolting a separate chatbot onto HR data.
Voice and multilingual support broaden access for distributed and non-English-speaking teams.
Flexible AI deployment via Zoho-hosted ZKS or bring-your-own-key third-party models.
Role-based permissions and audit trails address enterprise security expectations.
Free Zoho People tier plus a 30-day full-feature trial lower the barrier to testing.
Zia requires Zoho People; it is not a standalone HR assistant for other HRIS platforms.
The Zia AI bot is not included on the forever-free plan, only paid tiers.
Advanced analytics features may need an active Zoho Analytics subscription.
Minimum five users on paid plans can be heavy for very small teams.
What is Zia in Zoho People?
Zia | Zoho People is the AI assistant embedded in Zoho People that answers HR questions, executes tasks, and generates reports through chat or voice. It sits inside the same platform as leave, performance, onboarding, and analytics modules.
Does Zia support voice commands?
Yes. Zia | Zoho People lets users perform tasks and retrieve information with voice commands, in addition to typed chat. The assistant uses NLP to interpret intent and complete the requested HR action.
Which Zoho People plans include Zia?
Zia | Zoho People appears on paid Zoho People tiers starting with Essential HR at $1.25 per user per month when billed annually. The Free edition covers core HR records but lists the Zia AI bot on paid plans.
Can Zia summarize HR policies?
Zia | Zoho People can summarize long policy documents into concise overviews so employees get quick answers without reading entire handbooks. Summaries respect each user's role-based access permissions.
How does Zia handle data privacy?
Zia | Zoho People follows a privacy-first framework with role-based access, encryption, GDPR compliance, and audit logs of every action. Organizations can run Zoho's ZKS model in Zoho data centers or connect third-party models with their own API keys.
Is Zia available on mobile?
Zia | Zoho People runs inside the Zoho People mobile app, so employees and managers can use the assistant from phones when working remotely.