A recap of the 2025 HLTH conference, where Grokker discussed how AI has the power to shape the future if employee health and wellbeing.
Every year, HLTH USA brings together thought leaders from across healthcare, technology, human resources, and the investment community to discuss innovation in health. This year, there were more than 12,000 attendees and 400+ speakers. Key focus areas included AI and emerging technology, employer and workforce health, food-as-medicine/nutrition, patient voice and impact, oral/dental health, and international health partnerships.
We had the honor of hosting three sessions, all centered on AI and the future of employee health and wellbeing.
Here are the key takeaways from each session.
AI For Benefits Panel
Featured speakers: Jamie Gerrits, VP of Digital Product, Aetna, a CVS Health Company; Jon Cohen, CEO, Talkspace; and Lorna Borenstein, CEO, Grokker
What to Look for in an AI Solution
How can HR leaders identify the AI solutions that will actually work, in terms of functionality and ROI? Here are the non-negotiables.
- Proof over promises: Organizations should expect clear evidence of performance. This means documented outcomes from real-world use, not pilot results or black-box claims.
- Clinician-in-the-loop models: Keeping medical professionals involved ensures that AI supports, rather than replaces, human judgment.
- Safety, specificity, and speed to value: Choose AI systems that are fully HIPAA compliant and built with proven privacy and security safeguards. Look for solutions that offer unique, evidence-based capabilities that directly address employee needs. Start small, test thoughtfully, and ensure the AI resolves questions and delivers clear next steps rather than simply redirecting users to other resources.
Surprise Learnings
When AI is deployed at scale, it often reveals surprising insights about how people engage with benefits and care:
- Reducing friction: When employees can schedule care or access information exactly when they need it, engagement and follow-through rise significantly.
- Uncovering hidden gaps: One client with strong maternity benefits discovered through GrokkyAI that many employees were asking about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which wasn't covered in their offerings. Closing that gap improved satisfaction and benefit utilization.
- Supporting every language: Employees often switch languages mid-chat to see if the AI can keep up. When it responds fluently, trust and engagement increase.
Precision in Action: How AI Delivers Benefits ROI
Featured speakers: Jyoti Chopra, former Chief People Officer, MGM Resorts International; and Lorna Borenstein
HR Can Lead in AI Adoption
At MGM the HR team didn’t wait for IT to introduce an AI solution. They took the reins by identifying challenges across benefits, self-service, training, learning, and development. They mapped what was consuming managers’ time and focused on finding practical solutions.
Key steps included:
- Partnering with technology providers: HR collaborated with Natomi and Grokker to co-design tools that addressed real employee and manager pain points.
- Working across departments: The team partnered with procurement, supply chain, legal, compliance, and IT to ensure each solution met rigorous safety and governance standards.
- Delivering results: The approach required bold thinking and collaboration, but the outcome was faster implementation and AI solutions that are already improving efficiency and engagement.
Learning from What Employees ask AI
One of the most fascinating insights came from the real questions employees have asked GrokkyAi. Each query revealed what people needed most, giving HR a new level of visibility into employee wellbeing.
- The biggest themes were exercise, stress, and sleep, along with specific questions like “yoga for back pain,” “how to sleep through the night,” and “how to stop worrying so much.”
- Unlike survey responses, these authentic, day-to-day questions revealed where employees were struggling: stress, pain, sleep, nutrition, and more.
- This insight helped identify patterns early, like an increase in searches about back pain and sleep tied to certain job roles.
AI That Works: Turning Benefits Into Action
Featured speaker: Lorna Borenstein
Your Framework For Evaluating AI for HR Benefits
After working with multiple clients, we developed a simple framework to help HR teams focus on solving real problems with measurable outcomes. It became one of the most requested takeaways among CHROs and Total Rewards leaders.
The framework helps you:
- Identify the problem: Pinpoint friction in your benefits experience using real employee data and feedback.
- Define what AI can change: Discover how automation can guide employees instantly, reduce admin workload, and improve access to care.
- Measure success: Set KPIs that track engagement, time savings, and ROI.
- Visualize outcomes: Create a clear roadmap for success across people, process, and performance.
You can download the full framework, alongside other resources, as part of our AI Toolkit.
Conversational Benefits Agents Deliver Real Value
With GrokkyAi, we’re delivering real value by enabling HR to be more efficient and employees to be more productive. Here are the initial results:
- Volume: Over 1,700 questions per month, which translates to more than 20,000 per year
- Time savings: Each response saved 60 minutes (30 for employees, 30 for HR)
- Cost impact: About $50 saved per question, totaling roughly $85,000 per month and more than $1 million annually
Want to see how much your organization could save? Use our calculator to learn how much time, money, and productivity Grokky could return to your business.
Looking Ahead
HLTH USA 2025 made it clear that the future of health innovation depends on collaboration across the technology and healthcare sectors, as well as employers. We’re proud to be part of that conversation and even more excited to help organizations put these ideas into action.
Stay tuned as we continue to share insights and real-world examples of how Grokker is shaping the next generation of employee health and wellbeing.