Last week I told you about the pressure consultants are facing: Clients want AI solutions, the big consultancies are building proprietary platforms, and you're stuck trying to separate real capability from vendor marketing.
This week, let's talk about what actually works. Not in theory. Not in a vision deck. But in the real world where you need solutions you can implement in Q2, not Q2 of next year.
I've been building healthcare technology since before most vendors knew AI was coming. I hold patents in this space. I've seen every wave of "revolutionary" technology that was going to "change everything." Most of it didn't. But some of it did, and I learned to spot the difference.
Here's the difference: Solutions that work are modular, integrative, and focused on solving specific problems rather than being everything to everyone.
Let me show you what that looks like.
When we built Grokker's new solution set, we started with a question: What would it take to give independent consultants and mid-sized firms the same AI capabilities the big three are building, without requiring massive implementation teams or proprietary data pools?
The answer was to separate concerns. Instead of building one massive platform that tries to do everything, we built three specialized engines that work together:
Think of it like this: Mercer is building a full-stack solution that requires clients to adopt their entire ecosystem. We're building components that enhance whatever strategy you're already implementing with your clients.
Remember that first problem I mentioned—employees can't find information in their benefits ecosystem? This is where the Intelligence Engine lives.
It's built on three AI agents that each do one thing exceptionally well:
GrokkyAi (The Triage Agent): When an employee shows up confused or stressed, GrokkyAi doesn't just search—it triages. Is this an urgent mental health concern? Route to EAP immediately. Questions about HSA contributions? Different path. Unclear about parental leave policy? Yet another route.
Here's why this matters to you as a consultant: Your clients are spending thousands on EAP services that go underutilized because employees don't know when to use them. They're offering mental health benefits that sit unused because the friction of "do I really need this?" is too high. GrokkyAi removes that friction with intelligent, empathetic routing.
FETCH (The Retrieval Agent): This is the agent that reads all your client's documents—benefits handbooks, policy updates, carrier summaries, compliance docs—and structures that information so it can deliver accurate, personalized answers.
Not search results. Answers. With citations.
Think about what this means for your practice: When you update a client's benefits strategy mid-year, FETCH ensures employees immediately get accurate information. No lag. No outdated PDFs floating around. No HR team drowning in repetitive questions.
FETCH PRO (The Management Agent): This is the administrative command center. It's where HR (or you, in some cases) manages the knowledge base, handles conflicting document versions, and ensures accuracy across all employee interactions.
Here's the critical piece: This makes AI transparent instead of mysterious. When Aon rolls out their predictive analytics tools, your client doesn't really understand what's happening under the hood. With FETCH PRO, they see exactly what documents are being referenced, can update information in real-time, and maintain control.
For you as a consultant, this means you can confidently recommend the solution knowing your client won't be calling you six months later saying "the AI is giving wrong answers and we don't know why."
Intelligence without action is just expensive information. The Activation Engine is where understanding turns into health outcomes.
It's deliberately modular:
Grokker Core (Video & Community): Evidence-based content spanning physical health, mental wellbeing, nutrition, financial wellness, and more. But here's what makes it different: It's not just a library. It's connected to the Intelligence Engine.
When GrokkyAi identifies that someone's asking about stress management, it doesn't just provide policy information—it immediately connects them to relevant content. Mindfulness videos. Breathing exercises. Community support groups. In the moment they need it.
Healthy Weight Suite (Clinical Programs): For clients dealing with metabolic health risks, diabetes prevention, or weight management, this provides structured, outcome-focused programs with clinical support.
Why this matters to your advisory practice: You're already helping clients design benefits strategies around population health risks. Now you can point to specific interventions that address those risks, with measurable outcomes.
Grokker Challenges (Engagement Events): Enterprise, segmented, or turnkey challenges that create community, momentum, and that bit of competitive energy that drives participation.
Here's the consultant advantage: These aren't random wellness events. They can be strategically deployed based on what the Intelligence Engine is learning about population needs. Seeing lots of financial stress questions? Launch a financial wellness challenge. Mental health trending? Time for a mindfulness series.
This is where you help your clients move from participation metrics to outcome metrics. And this is where you differentiate yourself from consultants who are still celebrating "40% engagement rates" while costs keep climbing.
Precision Incentives use data—claims, biometrics, engagement patterns—to reward specific actions that drive outcomes, not just participation.
Compare these scenarios:
Traditional Incentive Program:
This is the model WTW is pushing toward with their workforce analytics. But they're building it as part of their full consulting relationship. We're building it as a tool you can deploy with your existing clients.
Let's get practical. Here's how this changes your next benefits strategy meeting:
Old Conversation: Client: "We need better engagement with our wellness programs." You: "Let's look at communication strategies and maybe add some incentives." Result: Another year of mediocre utilization and vague ROI metrics.
New Conversation: Client: "We need better engagement with our wellness programs." You: "Let's deploy intelligent triage to reduce friction, connect that to targeted content and clinical programs, and use precision incentives to drive specific outcomes. We'll measure success by risk reduction and cost avoidance, not just participation rates." Result: You sound like you're operating at the same strategic level as the big three, but with solutions your client can actually implement.
Here's what makes this different from the 47 other vendor pitches you're getting:
We're not asking your clients to rip and replace their existing infrastructure. The Intelligence Engine can sit on top of what they already have. It can integrate with their HRIS, their existing benefit platforms, their carrier portals.
This is modular intelligence, not monolithic platforms.
For you as a consultant, this means:
Next week, I'm going to close the loop and show you how to build the business case for this with your clients. Specifically, how to translate these capabilities into the language CFOs and CEOs actually care about: cost trends, productivity metrics, risk mitigation, and competitive advantage in talent retention.
Because at the end of the day, your clients don't buy technology. They buy outcomes. And you don't sell software. You sell strategic advantage.
Let's talk about how to connect those dots.
But first: What's the biggest implementation challenge you face when recommending new technology to clients? The thing that makes you hesitate even when you know the solution is right? Drop a comment or hit reply. I've got 27 years of scar tissue from failed implementations, and I'm happy to share what I've learned.