Edition 4 HR Software Report
A category-by-category reading of all ten Edition 4 HR markets, with Best Top 3 tables and separate Most Affordable, Easiest to Set Up, and Rising analysis.
The Edition 4 HR Reading
This report covers all ten category-relative markets in Cooper's Edition 4 HR software hub. The July 27–August 2, 2026 measurement records how ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity answer four separate questions: Best, Most Affordable, Easiest to Set Up, and Rising.
The hub contains 125 unique Best-ranked products, 998 cited pages from 482 source domains, and 3,839 Mentions across all four direct questions. Hub totals deduplicate products and evidence shared across categories, so they do not need to equal the sum of the ten category mastheads.
Best leadership changed in 3 of ten categories. Most Affordable changed in 8, Easiest to Set Up in 6, and Rising in 5. The different rates show why each answer needs its own ranking: movement in a price, setup, or emerging-product question does not alter Best.
How to Read This Report
Each category begins with one Best Top 3 table, then compares its result with the leaders in Most Affordable, Easiest to Set Up, and Rising. AIQ is a 1–100 category-relative recommendation-strength score within one question. Compare a product only inside the same category and direct scope; raw AIQ values from unrelated markets are not comparable.
The assistant positions show where a product ranked in that exact scope. A missing position means no category rank from that assistant in the measurement, not a rejection. Sources count distinct publisher domains and Mentions count verified product-page links, both accumulated across the week's four public questions. They describe the evidence footprint and do not cause rank.
Recruiting (ATS)
Open the complete Recruiting (ATS) Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Greenhouse | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 38 |
| 2 |  Lever | 36 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 28 |
| 3 | 28 | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | 2 |
In Recruiting (ATS), Greenhouse leads at Best AIQ 100. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 28 Sources and 38 Mentions. Lever is second at Best AIQ 36. It has assistant positions of #4 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #2 on Claude, and #2 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 22 Sources and 28 Mentions. ICIMS Hire is third at Best AIQ 28. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 2 Sources and 2 Mentions.
Greenhouse holds #1 in Best, with category-relative AIQ unchanged at 100. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 28 Sources and 38 Mentions. Lever holds #2 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 41 to 36. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 22 Sources and 28 Mentions. ICIMS Hire had no category rank in Edition 3 for Best and enters Edition 4 at #3, with category-relative AIQ 28. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 2 Sources and 2 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by Zoho Recruit at category-relative AIQ 63. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #3 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity.
Zoho Recruit moves from #2 to #1 in Most Affordable, a 1-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 65 to 63. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 21 Sources and 25 Mentions. Best is led by
Greenhouse; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by 
JazzHR at category-relative AIQ 77. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #4 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #7 on Perplexity. JazzHR holds #1 in Easiest to Set Up, while category-relative AIQ moves from 63 to 77. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 22 Sources and 27 Mentions. Best is led by Greenhouse; the two results answer separate questions.
Rising is led by 
Ashby at Rising AIQ 75. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity, with no category rank from Gemini in this scope. Ashby holds #1 in Rising, while Rising AIQ moves from 100 to 75. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 13 Sources and 15 Mentions. Best is led by Greenhouse; the two results answer separate questions.
Payroll
Open the complete Payroll Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gusto | 88 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 28 |
| 2 |  RUN Powered by ADP | 33 | 2 | — | 3 | — | 7 | 10 |
| 3 |  Rippling | 32 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | 20 | 23 |
In Payroll, Gusto leads at Best AIQ 88. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 27 Sources and 28 Mentions. RUN Powered by ADP is second at Best AIQ 33. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT and #3 on Claude, with no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 7 Sources and 10 Mentions. Rippling is third at Best AIQ 32. It has assistant positions of #3 on ChatGPT, #4 on Gemini, and #2 on Claude, with no category rank from Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 20 Sources and 23 Mentions.
Gusto holds #1 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 100 to 88. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 27 Sources and 28 Mentions. RUN Powered by ADP had no category rank in Edition 3 for Best and enters Edition 4 at #2, with category-relative AIQ 33. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 7 Sources and 10 Mentions. Rippling holds #3 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 31 to 32. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 20 Sources and 23 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by Payroll4Free.com at category-relative AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope.
Payroll4Free.com had no category rank in Edition 3 for Most Affordable and enters Edition 4 at #1, with category-relative AIQ 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 3 Sources and 4 Mentions. Best is led by
Gusto; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by Gusto at category-relative AIQ 73. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Gusto holds #1 in Easiest to Set Up, while category-relative AIQ moves from 88 to 73. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 27 Sources and 28 Mentions. The same product also leads Best, but these remain separate answers to separate questions.
Rising is led by Warp at Rising AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope.
Warp holds #1 in Rising, with Rising AIQ unchanged at 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 1 Source and 1 Mention. Best is led by
Gusto; the two results answer separate questions.
Employer of Record (EOR)
Open the complete Employer of Record (EOR) Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2 | 50 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 67 | |
| 3 | Rippling | 26 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 32 |
In Employer of Record (EOR), Deel leads at Best AIQ 100. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 3 Sources and 6 Mentions.
Remote is second at Best AIQ 50. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #2 on Claude, and #2 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 36 Sources and 67 Mentions.
Rippling is third at Best AIQ 26. It has assistant positions of #4 on ChatGPT, #4 on Gemini, #3 on Claude, and #4 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 22 Sources and 32 Mentions.
Deel holds #1 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 98 to 100. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 3 Sources and 6 Mentions.
Remote holds #2 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 53 to 50. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 36 Sources and 67 Mentions.
Rippling moves from #4 to #3 in Best, a 1-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 20 to 26. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 22 Sources and 32 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by Native Teams at category-relative AIQ 57. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT and #7 on Claude, with no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this scope.
Native Teams moves from #3 to #1 in Most Affordable, a 2-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 25 to 57. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 3 Sources and 5 Mentions. Best is led by
Deel; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by Deel at category-relative AIQ 77. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #2 on Claude, and #3 on Perplexity.
Deel moves from #3 to #1 in Easiest to Set Up, a 2-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 28 to 77. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 3 Sources and 6 Mentions. The same product also leads Best, but these remain separate answers to separate questions.
Rising is led by 
Borderless AI at Rising AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope. Borderless AI holds #1 in Rising, with Rising AIQ unchanged at 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 7 Sources and 10 Mentions. Best is led by Deel; the two results answer separate questions.
Performance Management
Open the complete Performance Management Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 59 | 1 | — | 4 | — | 14 | 20 | |
| 2 |  Lattice | 48 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | 26 | 43 |
| 3 |  15Five | 28 | 3 | — | 2 | 3 | 24 | 29 |
In Performance Management, Betterworks leads at Best AIQ 59. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT and #4 on Claude, with no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 14 Sources and 20 Mentions.
Lattice is second at Best AIQ 48. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity, with no category rank from Gemini in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 26 Sources and 43 Mentions. 15Five is third at Best AIQ 28. It has assistant positions of #3 on ChatGPT, #2 on Claude, and #3 on Perplexity, with no category rank from Gemini in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 24 Sources and 29 Mentions.
Betterworks moves from #5 to #1 in Best, a 4-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 21 to 59. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 14 Sources and 20 Mentions.
Lattice moves from #1 to #2 in Best, a 1-place drop, while category-relative AIQ moves from 97 to 48. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 26 Sources and 43 Mentions. 15Five holds #3 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 33 to 28. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 24 Sources and 29 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by 
Teamflect at category-relative AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope. Teamflect holds #1 in Most Affordable, with category-relative AIQ unchanged at 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 7 Sources and 8 Mentions. Best is led by Betterworks; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by 
Effy AI at category-relative AIQ 70. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT and #1 on Claude, with no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this scope. Effy AI holds #1 in Easiest to Set Up, while category-relative AIQ moves from 63 to 70. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 5 Sources and 6 Mentions. Best is led by Betterworks; the two results answer separate questions.
Rising is led by Confirm at Rising AIQ 58. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT and #5 on Claude, with no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this scope.
Confirm holds #1 in Rising, while Rising AIQ moves from 55 to 58. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 5 Sources and 9 Mentions. Best is led by
Betterworks; the two results answer separate questions.
Time Tracking
Open the complete Time Tracking Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 47 | |
| 2 |  Toggl Track | 73 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 32 |
| 3 |  Harvest | 35 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 25 | 36 |
In Time Tracking, Clockify leads at Best AIQ 75. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #3 on Claude, and #2 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 33 Sources and 47 Mentions.
Toggl Track is second at Best AIQ 73. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 23 Sources and 32 Mentions. Harvest is third at Best AIQ 35. It has assistant positions of #3 on ChatGPT, #3 on Gemini, #2 on Claude, and #6 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 25 Sources and 36 Mentions.
Clockify moves from #2 to #1 in Best, a 1-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 50 to 75. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 33 Sources and 47 Mentions.
Toggl Track moves from #1 to #2 in Best, a 1-place drop, while category-relative AIQ moves from 100 to 73. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 23 Sources and 32 Mentions. Harvest moves from #7 to #3 in Best, a 4-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 15 to 35. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 25 Sources and 36 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by 
Jibble at category-relative AIQ 68. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT and #2 on Gemini, with no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this scope. Jibble holds #1 in Most Affordable, while category-relative AIQ moves from 89 to 68. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 13 Sources and 20 Mentions. Best is led by Clockify; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by Rize at category-relative AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope.
Rize moves from #3 to #1 in Easiest to Set Up, a 2-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 28 to 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 1 Source and 1 Mention. Best is led by
Clockify; the two results answer separate questions.
Rising is led by Timely at Rising AIQ 73. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity.
Timely moves from #3 to #1 in Rising, a 2-place gain, while Rising AIQ moves from 23 to 73. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 14 Sources and 21 Mentions. Best is led by
Clockify; the two results answer separate questions.
Learning Management (LMS)
Open the complete Learning Management (LMS) Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Docebo | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 30 |
| 2 |  Absorb LMS | 41 | 2 | 3 | 3 | — | 16 | 21 |
| 3 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 33 | 46 |
In Learning Management (LMS), Docebo leads at Best AIQ 100. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 21 Sources and 30 Mentions. Absorb LMS is second at Best AIQ 41. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #3 on Gemini, and #3 on Claude, with no category rank from Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 16 Sources and 21 Mentions. TalentLMS is third at Best AIQ 25. It has assistant positions of #8 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #4 on Claude, and #3 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 33 Sources and 46 Mentions.
Docebo holds #1 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 68 to 100. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 21 Sources and 30 Mentions. Absorb LMS moves from #4 to #2 in Best, a 2-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 23 to 41. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 16 Sources and 21 Mentions. TalentLMS holds #3 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 24 to 25. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 33 Sources and 46 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by 
Moodle LMS at category-relative AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope. Moodle LMS had no category rank in Edition 3 for Most Affordable and enters Edition 4 at #1, with category-relative AIQ 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 6 Sources and 8 Mentions. Best is led by Docebo; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by TalentLMS at category-relative AIQ 90. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #3 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity.
TalentLMS moves from #2 to #1 in Easiest to Set Up, a 1-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 48 to 90. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 33 Sources and 46 Mentions. Best is led by
Docebo; the two results answer separate questions.
Rising is led by Sana Learn at Rising AIQ 59. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT and #6 on Gemini, with no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this scope.
Sana Learn holds #1 in Rising, while Rising AIQ moves from 70 to 59. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 4 Sources and 5 Mentions. Best is led by
Docebo; the two results answer separate questions.
Core HR (HRIS)
Open the complete Core HR (HRIS) Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Rippling | 37 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 44 |
| 3 | 33 | — | 1 | 2 | — | 29 | 32 |
In Core HR (HRIS), Workday Human Capital Management leads at Best AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 1 Source and 1 Mention.
Rippling is second at Best AIQ 37. It has assistant positions of #5 on ChatGPT, #4 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 36 Sources and 44 Mentions. Workday is third at Best AIQ 33. It has assistant positions of #1 on Gemini and #2 on Claude, with no category rank from ChatGPT and Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 29 Sources and 32 Mentions.
Workday Human Capital Management had no category rank in Edition 3 for Best and enters Edition 4 at #1, with category-relative AIQ 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 1 Source and 1 Mention.
Rippling moves from #1 to #2 in Best, a 1-place drop, while category-relative AIQ moves from 73 to 37. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 36 Sources and 44 Mentions. Workday moves from #5 to #3 in Best, a 2-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 19 to 33. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 29 Sources and 32 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by OrangeHRM Starter at category-relative AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope.
OrangeHRM Starter had no category rank in Edition 3 for Most Affordable and enters Edition 4 at #1, with category-relative AIQ 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 4 Sources and 5 Mentions. Best is led by
Workday Human Capital Management; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by BambooHR at category-relative AIQ 84. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #3 on Perplexity.
BambooHR holds #1 in Easiest to Set Up, while category-relative AIQ moves from 63 to 84. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 34 Sources and 40 Mentions. Best is led by
Workday Human Capital Management; the two results answer separate questions.
Rising is led by Rippling at Rising AIQ 100. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Rippling moves from #2 to #1 in Rising, a 1-place gain, while Rising AIQ moves from 49 to 100. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 36 Sources and 44 Mentions. Best is led by Workday Human Capital Management; the two results answer separate questions.
Employee Engagement
Open the complete Employee Engagement Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Culture Amp | 96 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 32 | 37 |
| 2 | 33 | 2 | — | 3 | — | 8 | 8 | |
| 3 | Lattice | 26 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 27 | 32 |
In Employee Engagement, Culture Amp leads at Best AIQ 96. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #6 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 32 Sources and 37 Mentions. Workday Peakon Employee Voice is second at Best AIQ 33. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT and #3 on Claude, with no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 8 Sources and 8 Mentions.
Lattice is third at Best AIQ 26. It has assistant positions of #4 on ChatGPT and #2 on Gemini, with no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this scope. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 27 Sources and 32 Mentions.
Culture Amp holds #1 in Best, with category-relative AIQ unchanged at 96. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 32 Sources and 37 Mentions. Workday Peakon Employee Voice moves from #3 to #2 in Best, a 1-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 22 to 33. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 8 Sources and 8 Mentions.
Lattice moves from #5 to #3 in Best, a 2-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 16 to 26. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 27 Sources and 32 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by 
Matter at category-relative AIQ 71. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Claude, and #7 on Perplexity, with no category rank from Gemini in this scope. Matter moves from #16 to #1 in Most Affordable, a 15-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 5 to 71. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 27 Sources and 35 Mentions. Best is led by Culture Amp; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by Matter at category-relative AIQ 95. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, and #1 on Claude, with no category rank from Perplexity in this scope. Matter moves from #16 to #1 in Easiest to Set Up, a 15-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 5 to 95. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 27 Sources and 35 Mentions. Best is led by Culture Amp; the two results answer separate questions.
Rising is led by Deel Engage at Rising AIQ 63. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT and #2 on Claude, with no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this scope.
Deel Engage had no category rank in Edition 3 for Rising and enters Edition 4 at #1, with Rising AIQ 63. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 1 Source and 3 Mentions. Best is led by
Culture Amp; the two results answer separate questions.
Employee Scheduling
Open the complete Employee Scheduling Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 84 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 26 | |
| 2 |  Homebase | 48 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 21 |
| 3 | 37 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 15 |
In Employee Scheduling, Deputy leads at Best AIQ 84. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #4 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 22 Sources and 26 Mentions.
Homebase is second at Best AIQ 48. It has assistant positions of #4 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #4 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 17 Sources and 21 Mentions. 7shifts is third at Best AIQ 37. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #6 on Gemini, #3 on Claude, and #7 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 12 Sources and 15 Mentions.
Deputy holds #1 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 68 to 84. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 22 Sources and 26 Mentions.
Homebase moves from #3 to #2 in Best, a 1-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 35 to 48. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 17 Sources and 21 Mentions. 7shifts moves from #2 to #3 in Best, a 1-place drop, while category-relative AIQ moves from 66 to 37. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 12 Sources and 15 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by 
Sling at category-relative AIQ 80. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT and #1 on Gemini, with no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this scope. Sling moves from #3 to #1 in Most Affordable, a 2-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 30 to 80. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 11 Sources and 15 Mentions. Best is led by Deputy; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by WhenToWork at category-relative AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope.
WhenToWork moves from #4 to #1 in Easiest to Set Up, a 3-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 25 to 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 3 Sources and 3 Mentions. Best is led by
Deputy; the two results answer separate questions.
Rising is led by Wrok at Rising AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope.
Wrok had no category rank in Edition 3 for Rising and enters Edition 4 at #1, with Rising AIQ 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 1 Source and 1 Mention. Best is led by
Deputy; the two results answer separate questions.
Employee Recognition
Open the complete Employee Recognition Best ranking| Rank | Product | AIQ | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Perplexity | Sources | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Awardco | 69 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 22 |
| 2 |  Workhuman | 63 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 19 |
| 3 | 50 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 23 |
In Employee Recognition, Awardco leads at Best AIQ 69. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, #3 on Gemini, #3 on Claude, and #5 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 17 Sources and 22 Mentions. Workhuman is second at Best AIQ 63. It has assistant positions of #3 on ChatGPT, #1 on Gemini, #1 on Claude, and #1 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 13 Sources and 19 Mentions. Achievers is third at Best AIQ 50. It has assistant positions of #2 on ChatGPT, #2 on Gemini, #2 on Claude, and #2 on Perplexity. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 17 Sources and 23 Mentions.
Awardco holds #1 in Best, while category-relative AIQ moves from 70 to 69. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 17 Sources and 22 Mentions. Workhuman moves from #3 to #2 in Best, a 1-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 43 to 63. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 13 Sources and 19 Mentions. Achievers moves from #2 to #3 in Best, a 1-place drop, while category-relative AIQ moves from 70 to 50. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 17 Sources and 23 Mentions. These evidence totals are reported beside the ranking and are not used here to explain movement.
Most Affordable is led by TeamToast at category-relative AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope.
TeamToast moves from #3 to #1 in Most Affordable, a 2-place gain, while category-relative AIQ moves from 28 to 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 1 Source and 2 Mentions. Best is led by
Awardco; the two results answer separate questions.
Easiest to Set Up is led by 
HeyTaco at category-relative AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope. HeyTaco had no category rank in Edition 3 for Easiest to Set Up and enters Edition 4 at #1, with category-relative AIQ 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 6 Sources and 8 Mentions. Best is led by Awardco; the two results answer separate questions.
Rising is led by TeamToast at Rising AIQ 55. It has assistant positions of #1 on ChatGPT, with no category rank from Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity in this scope.
TeamToast moves from #7 to #1 in Rising, a 6-place gain, while Rising AIQ moves from 14 to 55. Its weekly evidence footprint across the four public questions contains 1 Source and 2 Mentions. Best is led by
Awardco; the two results answer separate questions.
What Changed Across HR
The ten Best leaders are Greenhouse, Gusto, Deel,
Betterworks,
Clockify,
Docebo, Workday Human Capital Management,
Culture Amp, Deputy, and
Awardco. Among them, 8 have a Best rank from all four assistants, 0 from three, 1 from two, and 1 from one. Assistant breadth shows how widely a product appears inside its category; the individual positions above show whether those assistants agree.
Edition 4 records 8 changed Most Affordable leaders, 6 changed Easiest to Set Up leaders, and 5 changed Rising leaders across this hub. Those movements belong to their own questions and do not override the Best tables.
The Edition 4 HR archive preserves all four direct rankings and the Sources & Mentions view. Continue with the Edition 4 Rising AIQ report, or review Cooper's methodology for the scoring and evidence rules.
Related News
The Cooper Index, Edition 4: How AI Recommendations Changed Across 80 Software Categories
Edition 4 measures what ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity recommend across 80 business software categories, separating Best, Most Affordable, Easiest to Set Up, and Rising into four direct rankings.
Edition 4 Rising AIQ Report
Eight category-relative Rising AIQ findings show where emerging-product recommendations strengthened in Cooper’s fourth immutable edition.
Edition 4 Support Software Report
A category-by-category reading of all ten Edition 4 Support markets, with Best Top 3 tables and separate Most Affordable, Easiest to Set Up, and Rising analysis.