# Workforce scheduling: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "employee scheduling software" and as "shift scheduling tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/core/workforce-scheduling/2026-11

**Standing:** Deputy leads with 29% of first choices; verdict contested. 51 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Deputy](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/deputy/index.md) | 29% | 2% | 40 |
| 2 | [Sling](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/sling/index.md) | 25% | 6% | 36 |
| 3 | [When I Work](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/when-i-work/index.md) | 24% | 2% | 43 |
| 4 | [Homebase](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/homebase/index.md) | 10% | 4% | 23 |
| 6 | [Connecteam](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/connecteam/index.md) | 2% | 2% | 40 |
| 10 | [7shifts](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/7shifts/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 15 |
| 11 | [Planday](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/planday/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 12 |
| 12 | [Cal.com](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/cal-com/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 10 |
| 13 | [Acuity Scheduling](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/acuity-scheduling/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 11 |
| 14 | [Calendly](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/calendly/index.md) | 0% | 28% | 18 |
| 19 | [Doodle](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/doodle/index.md) | 0% | 18% | 11 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 125 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: no first choice
- GPT-5.4 mini: Rippling, UKG Ready; alternatives Connecteam, Deputy
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Float; alternatives Connecteam, Deputy, Resource Guru, Rippling
- Perplexity Sonar: Deputy; alternatives Connecteam, Planday, Sling, When I Work
- Grok 4.20: Deputy; alternatives Connecteam, Sling, When I Work
- Mistral Small: When I Work; alternatives Deputy, Sling
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: When I Work; alternatives Deputy, Planday, Sling
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: When I Work; alternatives Deputy, Sling, TimeForge
- Kimi K2: Deputy; alternatives Sling, When I Work
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Deputy, When I Work; alternatives Connecteam, Planday, Sling
- MiniMax M2.5: Deputy, When I Work; alternatives Connecteam, QuickBooks Time, Sling
- GPT-6 Luna: Deputy; alternatives UKG Ready
- Muse Glimmer 30B: When I Work; alternatives Connecteam, Deputy, Planday, Sling

## Sources the answers cite

69 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- capterra.com: 31 answers, 47 citations
- leadchangegroup.com: 21 answers, 36 citations
- forbes.com: 21 answers, 23 citations
- softwareadvice.com: 20 answers, 30 citations
- peoplemanagingpeople.com: 19 answers, 21 citations
- getapp.com: 13 answers, 23 citations
- zapier.com: 12 answers, 12 citations
- selecthub.com: 10 answers, 10 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://leadchangegroup.com/employee-scheduling-software/mid-market (20 answers)
- https://forbes.com/advisor/business/software/best-employee-scheduling-software (18 answers)
- https://capterra.com/employee-scheduling-software (13 answers)
- https://softwareadvice.com/hr/employee-scheduling-comparison (13 answers)
- https://peoplemanagingpeople.com/tools/best-employee-shift-scheduling-software (12 answers)
- https://softwareadvice.com/scheduling (10 answers)
- https://zapier.com/blog/best-employee-scheduling-software (10 answers)
- https://capterra.com/resources/best-employee-scheduling-software-for-small-business (6 answers)
- https://getapp.com/hr-employee-management-software/employee-scheduling/org/mid-size-business?rating_stars_ge=2&page=10 (6 answers)
- https://leadchangegroup.com/time-and-attendance-software/mid-market (6 answers)

## Warned against

- Google Calendar: 5 of 9 labels negative. "Avoid using simple shared calendar apps (like basic Google Calendar or Outlook) for project management or complex team scheduling." (Mistral Small, negative prompt)
- Calendly: 5 of 18 labels negative. "US company that stores names, emails, IP addresses, and passes data to US sub-processors. Not ideal for sensitive scheduling" (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt)
- Reclaim.ai: 3 of 6 labels negative. "Reclaim.ai: No native mobile app, which limits on-the-go adjustments and can lead to scheduling conflicts" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)
- HubSpot Meetings: 2 of 3 labels negative. "Avoid these if you are a freelancer or small business that values flexibility over integrated reporting." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 13 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Deputy at 29%.

- When I Work: 6% to 24%, +18. Cleared the floor by 5 points · rank 4 → 3 of 125.
- Deputy: 37% to 29%, −8. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 1 of 125, unchanged.
- Connecteam: 10% to 2%, −8. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 3 → 6 of 125.
- Homebase: 6% to 10%, +4. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 → 4 of 125.
- Workforce.com: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 7 → 23 of 125.
- Sling: 24% to 25%, +1. Inside the floor by 12 points · rank 2 of 125, unchanged.
- Rippling: 4% to 4%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 6 → 5 of 125.
- 7shifts: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 15 → 10 of 125.
- Planday: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 18 → 11 of 125.
- Cal.com: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 14 → 12 of 125.
- Acuity Scheduling: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 16 → 13 of 125.
- Calendly: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 17 → 14 of 125.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/hr.