While Others Lay Off Due to AI, Progressive Is Hiring Because of It

“We’re going all in on something key to all of us: this long-term striving for developing and advancing our careers,” said Neil Lenane, Business Leader of Talent Acquisition at Progressive Insurance.

That focus on internal growth and the infrastructure needed to support it helps explain why Progressive is one of the few major U.S. employers actively expanding headcount in 2025. The company plans to hire more than 12,000 employees this year, up from 10,000 in 2024. While much of the country’s job market remains cautious, the Ohio-based insurance company is scaling its workforce to match a sharp uptick in business and using AI to manage the surge in talent acquisition.

According to Lenane, the growth is largely demand-driven. Progressive added more than five million policies last year and grew net premiums by 21% to $74.4 billion. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, 1.3 million new policies. About 5,000 of this year’s new hires will be focused on handling that growth, primarily in claims and customer service, two functions that make up more than half of the company’s workforce.

“We’re always making sure that we have folks to handle claims or replace people who’ve moved into training or leadership roles,” Lenane said in an interview with HR Brew. “It’s a continuous cycle.”

AI as a Force Multiplier

Progressive’s hiring surge is happening at a scale that makes manual recruitment nearly impossible. The company expects to receive over 800,000 applications this year. Some roles that once drew 30 applicants now receive more than 170.

To manage that, Progressive is deploying AI tools across multiple parts of its recruitment process from candidate sourcing and resume screening to asynchronous video interviews. The systems help identify matches and surface candidates most likely to succeed in a given role, although the final decisions remain with human recruiters.

“I get 800,000 applicants. I can’t talk to every single one of them,” Lenane said. “AI is enhancing our ability to make decisions and solve problems. But at the end of the day, the humans are driving the bus.”

The company’s use of asynchronous interviews where candidates record answers to standard questions on their own time has also helped streamline early screening without sacrificing the candidate experience.

Flexibility as a Recruiting Edge

Unlike many of its competitors, Progressive is not enforcing a return-to-office mandate. Most roles including in IT, legal, analyst functions, customer care, and even claims are remote or hybrid-friendly. That flexibility has proven to be a differentiator as competitors like Geico and Farmers require more on-site work.

“The more companies that are dialing back remote or hybrid work, the more those people tend to be in my hiring pools,” Lenane said.

Progressive has also seen interest rise in roles that historically didn’t attract much attention such as digital marketing and communications. Candidates appear drawn not only by the company’s growth but by the promise of workplace flexibility and advancement.

Enhancing Candidate Experience

Lenane’s team is also acutely aware that every job applicant is a potential customer. He estimates that one in four applicants either already holds a Progressive policy or is considering one. That prompted the team to double down on candidate experience.

“We’re moving a lot faster through the process because we’re leveraging technology. So that changes people’s expectations,” he explained.

To meet those expectations, Progressive is focusing on more personalized feedback—even for candidates who aren’t selected. Recruiters are encouraged to recommend other roles applicants might be better suited for or provide constructive feedback to help them improve their future applications.

“With the admin work reduced by automation, our teams are freed up to have more of those high-value interactions,” Lenane said.

AI in Customer and Marketing Operations

Progressive’s AI strategy doesn’t stop at hiring. The company is extending AI into customer service and marketing.

Its AI-powered chatbot, Flo, handles a wide range of customer queries, from billing issues to policy quotes. In 2020, the company enhanced Flo with Azure AI’s Custom Neural Voice technology, enabling natural-sounding voice responses across smart devices and voice assistants like Google Home.

On the marketing front, Progressive is working with AI firm Claritas and MMA Global to experiment with generative audio ads. The company used GenAI to produce 120 synthetic audio variations, ultimately activating 96 versions based on insights from over six million impressions. Claritas’ AI platform helped determine which messages performed best across segmented audiences and adjusted campaigns in real time to optimize results.

The effort is part of a larger push to use AI to personalize marketing content, dynamically map customer journeys, and improve ROI through automated performance monitoring.

While the tools are digital, the company insists its approach is still deeply human.

“It’s not just about filling seats,” Lenane said. “It’s about building careers, creating connections, and making sure that the way we hire reflects the same values as the way we serve our customers.”