Most employers are weighing the potential of AI-enabled benefits programs and how best to offer them to workers, according to a new survey.
Experts at Aon and Define Ventures polled 67 human resources and benefits leaders across multiple industries and representing a variety of employer sizes, and found that 17% currently have live AI deployments where they have the capacity to change workflows. The results were provided first to Fierce Healthcare.
In addition, 30% said they are mulling AI deployments and named it a top priority, but have yet to sign on with a vendor. In this group, most cited privacy concerns as the key reason for their hesitancy. Twenty-four percent said they're leaning more on their existing partners to deliver AI tools, rather than seeking new partners for the technology.
And 20% said they have no plans for AI-enabled benefits in the near term but see the potential in improving the employee experience, the survey found. These leaders said the potential cost and return on investment for these platforms slowed their pace of adoption.
Kevin Fyock, innovation and strategy leader for health Solutions – North America at Aon, said in a statement that analysts expect employers to develop more defined evaluation standards for AI-powered benefits, and they'll likely be looking for stronger evidence before signing on with a vendor partner.
"As employers consider AI-enabled benefits solutions, the conversation is increasingly centered on trust and accountability," said Fyock. "They want to understand not only what a solution can do but also how it protects employee information, supports accurate and reliable outputs and fits within existing governance and procurement processes."
"Employers are also becoming more discerning about ‘AI washing’ and will expect vendors to clearly explain which capabilities are AI-enabled and substantiate the claims they make," he said.
In the group that was currently using AI-enabled benefits, 51% were piloting new solutions while 49% were taking a more partner-led approach and leaning on existing vendors, the survey found.
Meanwhile, 61% of the employers who were not currently deploying AI in their benefits strategies said they were exploring the possibility. Thirty-nine percent had no plans.
The tech is most often being utilized at present to address key friction points like employee communication, support around open enrollment and ways to streamline benefits employees' workflows. These areas have some of the strongest potential to pay off in the near-term, per the survey, and also do not require that the benefits teams tailor data to specific individual employees, rather allowing them to work from a single source of truth.
To establish a stronger partnership, the study found that AI companies should start by clearly defining what the employer views as value and building the deployment around their priorities. The survey identified multiple focus areas for employers, ranging from the expectation of demonstrated ROI to key technical and governance guardrails.
Chirag Shah, partner at Define Ventures, said in a statement that given AI's "dramatic effect on the healthcare landscape" the tech holds plenty of potential for employers to unlock.
"Health systems, payers and providers—three of the major buyers in our industry—has reaped significant benefits, which Define’s own surveys and reports have demonstrated over the last several years," Shah said. "More recently, we have seen similar dynamics appearing in the employer ecosystem: we believe the potential for AI to impact both benefits leaders and the employee healthcare experience at large is tremendous."