Workers Are Using AI for Benefits, HR Is Now Catching Up

At the recent WorldatWork Total Rewards Conference in San Antonio, conversations about artificial intelligence — and its place in compensation and benefits — were everywhere. 

In one panel session April 20, the message wasn’t just that AI is starting to be used in the benefits field; it was that employees are already using the tech when it comes to benefits, whether employers are ready or not. It’s a reality that’s forcing HR leaders to rethink how benefits are delivered, communicated, and managed — and one that’s causing employers to embrace their own AI tools. 

Millions of weekly queries across major AI platforms are tied to health care, with a significant portion of them specifically connected to understanding benefits and insurance, according to estimates shared during the session. That makes benefits one of the most common real-world use cases for AI today, Rohan D’Souza, CEO of Avante, an AI platform that works with employers on benefits, said during the session.

“No longer is it a question of, ‘Do you think our people will benefit from this?’ ” he said. “People absolutely are benefiting from [AI].” 

That can be a powerful change when it comes to understanding benefits — a topic many workers historically find confusing. But it also introduces risk — that employees are leaking employer data on their benefits to public AI solutions. Plus, the accuracy of AI-generated guidance isn’t guaranteed, especially when it’s coming from a non-employer source.

Those are some of the reasons why a growing number of employers are creating their own internal AI tools that can help employees understand their benefits by providing chatbot tools to answer questions.  

That can be done by tapping into existing benefits systems and enhancing them with AI, D’Souza said. “You can take an existing process and create efficiency,” he said. “Just giving [workers] the ability to ask questions can really increase engagement over a period of time.”

HR leaders shared early lessons on how they are benefiting from AI — and where caution is still needed. 

Related Article: Are AI Subscriptions the Next Employee Benefit to Watch?

Meeting Employees Where They Are 

One of the most immediate benefits of AI is availability, panelists agreed.

A significant share of employee questions about their benefits — often 30% to 40% — comes outside traditional working hours, D’Souza noted. Evenings and weekends are often when employees sit down with family members, review options, and make decisions. 

“Having something available to answer questions in the evenings, on the weekends — meeting people where they are — has been so helpful,” said Elizabeth Chrane, chief people officer at OneDigital in Atlanta, who said the benefits broker and HR consulting firm has jumped in “feet first” when it comes to utilizing AI tools in benefits.

Anonymity might also help to encourage deeper engagement. Employees may feel more comfortable asking sensitive or complex questions through an AI interface than with an actual person. 

Maybe one of the biggest advantages, though, is simply giving employees the opportunity to better understand their benefits. “Benefits literacy is so important,” said Olga Reupert, vice president of global total rewards at New York City-based analytics provider Real Chemistry, a company that also is embracing AI assistance in benefits communications.

“Our workforce is really, really young, and I think for all of us, our workforce is getting younger,” she said. “[And so many of them] don’t know the basics of benefits.” 

Unlocking New Insights

Beyond efficiency and giving employees easier access to benefits information, AI can provide employers something they’ve long struggled to capture: real-time insight into employee needs. 

Instead of relying solely on employee surveys, organizations can analyze incoming questions to identify gaps in understanding, communication breakdowns, or emerging priorities. 

Related Article: With Hundreds of Benefits Now in the Mix, How Can Employers Decide What to Offer? 

“We can review the information that comes back on a regular basis about what types of questions are being asked. From our communications and change management strategy, we’re able to alter that on a real-time basis, to say, ‘Oh, people seem to be really having a hard time grasping this concept.’ Or maybe we did a comms piece on a piece of benefits structure, and we see more questions coming in,” Reupert explained. “Having that data at hand and being able to understand it has impacted communications and change management strategy of where you need to put your efforts.” That has replaced what she describes as a “spray and pray” approach.

Tips for Getting Started 

There are some roadblocks to overcome when rolling out AI assistance in workplace benefits communications, Chrane said. For instance, there is often hesitation on both the side of employees and company leaders. There are also privacy and security questions. 

Those concerns aren’t unfounded, particularly as organizations weigh compliance risks and data governance challenges alongside efficiency gains. Some of that hesitation can be alleviated with time, panelists agreed. Chrane recommended that HR teams experiment with the tools themselves before introducing them more broadly to employees.  

“From a psychological perspective, dig into it with your own people first,” Chrane said. “Let them test the systems. Let them start to build trust and confidence, and that will help everything move forward.”

Reupert said another strategy to embrace that worked for her and Real Chemistry was not waiting to roll out AI solutions during high-stakes moments like open enrollment. “Somebody suggested to us to launch [our AI tool] during open enrollment, and I said, ‘I wanted to make sure we do this well and get increased adoption along the way, so that when open enrollment hits, everybody knows about our new AI coworker and is ready to roll with asking them questions.’ ” 

Chrane said they also tested the AI tool internally first among their benefits team, then the general HR team.

“By the time open enrollment hit … I couldn’t believe when our [benefits] team opened their inbox on Monday morning. Their inbox was not flooded with questions.” 

Chrane agreed that OneDigital’s past open enrollment was easier for the HR team – one potential boon for embracing AI, especially during a time when HR teams have their hands full.

The HR and benefits team had more time to answer questions “that needed to be answered by humans or those that had to have a level of complexity or needed a level of empathy,” Chrane said. “It’s really helped our HR team out.”