Zapier’s 4-Tier AI Fluency Framework: A Playbook for HR and People Leaders
Disco’s AI Fluency Series spotlights companies making AI a core part of how their teams learn and work.
“AI fluency is now a requirement for 100% of new hires at Zapier.” — Brandon Sammut, Chief People Officer
At Zapier, AI fluency isn’t just an initiative. It’s a signal of how the company believes people learn, grow, and contribute in an AI-powered world.
While many organizations are still deciding whether or how to train their teams on AI, Zapier is already embedding fluency into the core of its people strategy. From hiring to onboarding to daily workflows, fluency is expected—and supported.
And the mindset behind it is simple: when you help your team learn how to work with AI, you unlock not just efficiency, but creativity.
This article walks through how Zapier is doing that—and what People leaders can borrow and adapt.
Why AI Fluency Matters Now
AI is already transforming how work gets done—in marketing, HR, product, and beyond. But knowing AI exists isn’t the same as knowing how to use it meaningfully.
Fluency is different from awareness. It’s about helping people feel confident, capable, and curious—so they can experiment and create with these tools in ways that are relevant to their work.
For Zapier, this isn’t about future-proofing. It’s about now-proofing—giving employees the mindset and muscle to amplify their impact today.
A 4-Level Framework That Meets People Where They Are
To bring fluency into hiring—without making it a gatekeeper—Zapier created a simple, clear rubric:
- Unacceptable: Resistant to AI tools and skeptical of their value
- Capable: Using popular tools, with <3 months of hands-on experience
- Adoptive: Embedding AI in personal workflows—prompting, chaining models, automating tasks
- Transformative: Rethinking strategy and delivering new value using AI
This isn’t a traditional assessment. It’s a way to meet candidates where they are and support their growth once they join.
Real Prompts That Spark Real Insight
What makes Zapier’s approach stand out is how specific it gets. Candidates aren’t asked generic questions—they’re asked how AI is actually showing up in their work.
Marketing
- How is AI changing how you plan or execute campaigns?
- How do you use AI to personalize messaging, generate content, or analyze performance?
People Ops
- Can you share an example of how you use AI in your daily work?
- What process or program have you built using AI? What was the outcome?
Product
- How is AI impacting SaaS?
- Tell us about a time you used AI in a product feature. What changed?
These conversations reveal not just skills—but mindset. Who’s experimenting? Who’s learning? Who’s ready to bring others along?
What People Leaders Can Steal
Zapier’s approach is practical, repeatable, and deeply aligned with People team priorities. Here’s how to apply it:
- Use the 4-level rubric to guide hiring, development, and growth conversations
- Add role-specific AI prompts to interviews and 1:1s to surface fluency and curiosity
- Treat fluency as a capability to grow, not a filter to screen out
This isn’t about perfect answers. It’s about building a culture where learning, experimentation, and creativity with AI are expected—and celebrated.
