# Succession planning: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "succession planning software" and as "talent review 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/performance/succession-planning/2026-11

**Standing:** Lattice leads with 30% of first choices; verdict contested. 53 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Lattice](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/lattice/index.md) | 30% | 3% | 32 |
| 2 | [PerformYard](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/performyard/index.md) | 13% | 0% | 39 |
| 3 | [SuccessionNow](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/successionnow/index.md) | 9% | 4% | 26 |
| 4 | [Teamflect](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/teamflect/index.md) | 9% | 0% | 10 |
| 7 | [TalentGuard Succession Planning](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/talentguard-succession-planning/index.md) | 4% | 0% | 18 |
| 10 | [ChartHop](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/charthop/index.md) | 2% | 0% | 16 |
| 18 | [15Five](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/15five/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 11 |
| 19 | [Cornerstone Succession](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/cornerstone-succession/index.md) | 0% | 26% | 27 |
| 20 | [Workday Succession Planning](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/workday-succession-planning/index.md) | 0% | 30% | 23 |
| 23 | [Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/oracle-fusion-cloud-hcm/index.md) | 0% | 21% | 14 |
| 24 | [UKG Pro Succession Planning](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/ukg-pro-succession-planning/index.md) | 0% | 10% | 10 |
| 114 | [SAP SuccessFactors Succession & Development](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/sap-successfactors-succession-development/index.md) | 0% | 47% | 30 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 115 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: Engagedly; alternatives Cornerstone Succession, Lattice, Peoplebox
- GPT-5.4 mini: Lattice; alternatives Cornerstone Succession, PerformYard
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Lattice, Leapsome; alternatives HiBob, SuccessionHR, TalentGuard Succession Planning, Teamflect
- Perplexity Sonar: Peoplebox; alternatives Dayforce, Engagedly, Lattice, TalentGuard Succession Planning
- Grok 4.20: PerformYard; alternatives ClayHR, Disprz, SuccessionNow, TalentGuard Succession Planning
- Mistral Small: SuccessionNow, SuccessionStack; alternatives Disprz, TalentGuard Succession Planning
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: TalentGuard Succession Planning; alternatives Disprz, Neobrain, UKG Pro Succession Planning
- Llama 4 Maverick: Disprz, Neobrain, TalentGuard Succession Planning
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Disprz; alternatives Neobrain, PerformYard, TalentGuard Succession Planning
- Kimi K2: PerformYard, SuccessionNow; alternatives Paycom, Teamflect, UKG Ready
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Disprz; alternatives Lattice, Neobrain, PerformYard, SuccessionNow
- MiniMax M2.5: PerformYard, SuccessionNow; alternatives ChartHop, Eightfold AI
- GPT-6 Luna: Lattice; alternatives Engagedly, Your existing HCM's succession module
- Muse Glimmer 30B: SuccessionStack; alternatives PerformYard, SuccessionNow

## Sources the answers cite

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

- softwareadvice.com: 35 answers, 56 citations
- getapp.com: 32 answers, 50 citations
- disprz.ai: 27 answers, 28 citations
- capterra.com: 26 answers, 41 citations
- softwareadvice.co.uk: 23 answers, 23 citations
- firsthr.app: 22 answers, 22 citations
- g2.com: 20 answers, 27 citations
- bullseyeengagement.com: 17 answers, 18 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://disprz.ai/blog/succession-planning-software (26 answers)
- https://getapp.com/hr-employee-management-software/succession-planning (23 answers)
- https://capterra.com/succession-planning-software (22 answers)
- https://firsthr.app/compare/performance/succession-planning-software (22 answers)
- https://softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/3798/succession-planning/software (20 answers)
- https://softwareadvice.com/hr/succession-planning-comparison (19 answers)
- https://bullseyeengagement.com/blog/succession-planning-software-buyers-guide (17 answers)
- https://softwareadvice.com/hr/succession-planning-comparison?page=3 (12 answers)
- https://engagedly.com/blog/best-succession-planning-softwares (11 answers)
- https://darwinbox.com/blog/8-best-succession-planning-software-enterprises (10 answers)

## Warned against

- SAP SuccessFactors Succession & Development: 14 of 30 labels negative. "Dedicated enterprise software (like SAP SuccessFactors) is too expensive for this scenario." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt)
- Cornerstone Succession: 7 of 27 labels negative. "Platforms like SAP SuccessFactors, Cornerstone, or PageUp are powerful but can be overkill for mid-sized companies." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)
- Workday Succession Planning: 7 of 23 labels negative. "Unlike large enterprises that need massive suites like Workday or SAP, mid-market B2B companies thrive on tools that integrate into daily workflows" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt)
- Excel: 3 of 4 labels negative. "Avoid relying on spreadsheets as your primary succession repository if you are managing complex or growing leadership tiers." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 13 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Lattice at 30%.

- PerformYard: 4% to 13%, +9. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 7 → 2 of 115.
- Engagedly: 11% to 2%, −9. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 2 → 14 of 115.
- TalentGuard Succession Planning: 0% to 4%, +4. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 24 → 7 of 115.
- BambooHR: 4% to 0%, −4. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 6 → 22 of 115.
- Lattice: 28% to 30%, +2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 1 of 115, unchanged.
- SuccessionNow: 11% to 9%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 3 of 115, unchanged.
- Teamflect: 7% to 9%, +2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 4 of 115, unchanged.
- ChartHop: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 30 → 10 of 115.
- Leapsome: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 8 → 11 of 115.
- 15Five: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 12 → 18 of 115.
- Workday Succession Planning: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 22 → 20 of 115.
- Cornerstone Succession: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 23 → 19 of 115.

## 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.