AI: The New New Thing in Healthcare Benefits

AI, is quickly shaping the future of healthcare benefits. It's exhilarating and scary, but full of so much potential. Our VP of Marketing details why savvy companies should embrace this change.

Remember Jim Clark's book, Netscape Time? He talked about the internet's crazy fast adoption, how it was "the new new thing." Well, buckle up, because AI is the new new new thing, and it's moving even faster than the internet and PCs.

Don't believe it? As of August 2024, a whopping 32% of Americans were already using generative AI. That's just two years after ChatGPT's debut. Compare that to PCs (20% adoption three years after IBM's PC hit the market) and the internet (20% adoption two years after it went commercial). AI is like the hare in this race, leaving PCs and the internet in its dust!

But here's where it gets really interesting for our industry, healthcare benefits:

• Point Solution Overload: Remember the Wild West? That's kind of what the point solution market feels like right now — a chaotic mess of vendors vying for attention. Employers are drowning in options, leading to "point solution fatigue." It's enough to make anyone want to scream into the digital void.
• AI to the Rescue? Imagine an AI that sifts through this chaos, analyzes an employee's needs, and spits out personalized benefit recommendations. That's what companies like Grokker are working on with GrokkyAI, a conversational benefits agent. No more benefit goose chases!
• ROI is King: Employers aren't just looking for shiny new toys anymore. They want proof that these AI-powered solutions deliver a return on investment. Can AI help cut healthcare costs? Improve employee well-being? Show me the data!
• Data Privacy Dance: With AI comes the responsibility of handling sensitive employee health data. How can we ensure privacy while still harnessing the power of AI? This is a key question for our industry.

The future of healthcare benefits is being shaped by AI, and it's moving at warp speed. It's exhilarating, a little scary, and definitely full of potential. So, let's embrace the new new new thing, but do it responsibly and with a healthy dose of skepticism (and maybe a little bit of humor along the way).