The Setup
Let me tell you about a conversation I had last month with a benefits consultant who's been in the game longer than I have.
She told me: "My clients are asking for AI solutions. Every RFP now includes questions about 'AI-powered personalization' and 'intelligent benefits navigation.' But when I actually look at what vendors are offering, it's either glorified chatbots that can't answer real questions, or platforms so complex they'd need a dedicated IT team just to keep them running."
Then she said something that stuck with me: "I feel like I'm caught between what my clients need and what the market is actually delivering."
Sound familiar?
The Pressure From Above (And Below)
Here's what's happening in your world right now, and I know this because I talk to consultants like you every week:
From the top: The big three, Aon, Mercer, WTW—are going all-in on proprietary AI platforms. They're building asset-based consulting models, selling subscriptions to smart software, and fundamentally shifting from "we'll analyze your data" to "our platform continuously analyzes your data."
From the clients: Everyone wants the AI magic. They've read the articles. They've seen the demos. They want personalized employee experiences, predictive analytics, and cost savings that AI promises. And they're asking you to deliver it.
From the vendors: You're getting pitched "AI-powered" solutions that are either vaporware, impossibly complex to implement, or so generic they don't actually solve the specific problems your clients face.
You're stuck in the middle, trying to separate signal from noise while maintaining your credibility as the trusted advisor.
What's Actually Changing
(And Why It Matters to You)
I've been watching technology waves crash into healthcare for nearly three decades. And here's what I can tell you about this AI moment: It's real. But not in the way most vendors are selling it.
The big consultancies are making the right bet—they're investing in AI not to replace human judgment, but to eliminate the commodity work so their consultants can focus on strategy, negotiation, and change management. The "human in the loop" model, as they're calling it.
But here's their problem (and your opportunity): They're building these massive, proprietary platforms that only work within their ecosystem. If you're an independent consultant or at a mid-sized firm, you don't have access to Aon's billions in claims data or Mercer's development budget.
You need something different. You need AI that:
- Actually works (not just impressive demos)
- Integrates easily (your clients don't have unlimited IT resources)
- Solves real problems (not generic "engagement")
- Makes you look good (enhancing your advisory role, not replacing it)
The Three Problems Your Clients Are Actually Asking You To Solve
When clients say "we want AI," here's what they really mean:
Problem 1: "Our employees can't find answers" They've invested in benefits packages, wellness programs, mental health resources, financial planning tools. But utilization is terrible because employees can't figure out what's available, who's eligible, or how to access it.
Every open enrollment is chaos. Every policy update generates hundreds of confused emails to HR. And your client is paying for programs nobody uses.
Problem 2: "We need personalization but we don't have the resources" They've read about how Mercer uses AI to create hyper-personalized communication. They want employees to get relevant benefits information based on their life stage, health status, family situation. But they don't have a team of data scientists or a budget for enterprise-level personalization engines.
Problem 3: "We can't prove ROI on our wellbeing investment" The CFO wants numbers. Not "engagement metrics" or "satisfaction scores." Real outcomes. Cost avoidance. Risk reduction. And right now, your client is measuring the wrong things because their systems can't connect benefits information to health outcomes to financial impact.
These aren't technology problems. They're intelligence problems. And that's where Grokker comes in.
Why This Matters to Your Advisory Practice
Let's get practical about what this means for you as a consultant.
You're not a software company. You shouldn't have to become one. Your value is in understanding your client's business, negotiating with carriers, designing benefits strategies that align with workforce needs, and navigating the complex regulatory environment.
But increasingly, you need technology partners who can extend your capabilities without adding complexity to your practice.
Here's what I mean: When Aon deploys their Health Equity and Affordability Tool, it's impressive—but it's also tied to their entire ecosystem. You can't just "add" that capability to your existing client relationships without fundamentally changing how you operate.
You need modular intelligence. Technology that plugs into your existing advisory relationship and makes you more valuable, not more dependent on a single vendor.
What "Intelligent Wellbeing Orchestration" Actually Means (Without the Buzzwords)
I'm going to level with you: We use the phrase "Intelligent Wellbeing Orchestration" to describe what Grokker does. It's not perfect, but here's why we landed on it.
Your clients have fragmented benefits ecosystems. Documents in SharePoint. Programs in different portals. Policies that contradict each other. Communication that's generic and ineffective. And somewhere in the middle, employees who are confused and disengaged.
Orchestration means bringing all of that together into a coherent experience where the right information connects to the right resources at the right time for the right person.
Intelligent means it happens automatically, using AI that actually understands context, personalizes responses, and learns from interactions—without requiring your client to hire data scientists.
In next week's post, I'll show you exactly how this works through our three-engine architecture. But for now, just understand this: We built Grokker to be the technology partner that enhances your advisory practice without competing with it.
The Question You Should Be Asking
Here's what to think about as you head into your next client meeting:
When your client asks about AI solutions, are you confident that what you're recommending will actually deliver on the promise? Not just an impressive demo, but real implementation, real adoption, real outcomes?
Because that's the gap we're trying to fill. Not by replacing consultants like you, but by giving you technology that makes your recommendations more powerful.
Next week, I'll walk you through how the three engines—Intelligence, Activation, and Precision—work together to solve those three problems I mentioned earlier. And more importantly, I'll show you how to position this with your clients in a way that reinforces your value as their trusted advisor.
But for now, I'm curious: What's the hardest question your clients are asking you right now about AI and benefits technology?