Personalisation emerges as an important lever in benefits satisfaction, in which AI could play a significant role
Artificial intelligence is emerging as an underutilised tool in helping employees choose their benefit plans, as many express regret over the decisions they make when it comes to their benefits.
More than a third of employees (35%) admit that they regret the choices they made during their last open enrollment (OE), the same figure as last year, according to new research from Selerix.
Tim Pratte, CEO of Selerix, said their findings revealed that employees continue making consequential decisions without real guidance and living with the results.
"That is a solvable problem – one that clearer decision support, more personalised communication, and year-round engagement can address," Pratte said.
In fact, the data showed that employees who described their open enrollment as "extremely personalised" reported a 76% satisfaction over the benefit choices they made.
By contrast, only 20% of employees who didn't think their benefit plans were personalised felt satisfied with their choices.
"Personalisation is a lever nobody's pulling," the report read. "Employees whose OE felt extremely personalised were nearly four times more likely to be very satisfied than those who felt none, a 56-point gap driven entirely by experience quality, not plan design."
AI to help personalisation
Artificial intelligence can help in personalising benefits, but employees do not appear ready for this step, according to a separate report from Prudential.
Its 2026 Benefits & Beyond study revealed that 83% of employers are interested in using AI to help workers better understand their benefits, but only 58% of employees are willing to use the technology for this purpose.
"AI can make benefits simpler, more personalised, and easier to use, but employees won't embrace it unless they trust it," said Michael Estep, president of Prudential Group Insurance.
More than half of employees cited privacy and security (52%) as their top concerns in using AI, according to Prudential's report.
Nearly half (49%) also said they are concerned with potential AI inaccuracy and reliability, while another 25% said they just don't trust the technology in general.
"Employee benefits is one of the clearest applications for AI given how complex and individual these decisions can be," said Scott Roth, vice president and chief technology officer, Prudential Group Insurance.
"Many employees still struggle to navigate their benefits options. AI can help simplify that, but they need confidence in the guidance they receive and how their information is handled."
Employers can take note of the findings that more than half of employees are willing to use AI to educate or learn more about benefits in general (58%).
They are also open to receiving personalised benefits information from the technology (57%).
"Our research indicates that employees are willing to engage with AI to learn about their benefits, provided they can trust their employers to manage their data responsibly," Roth said.
The report noted that trust should be built "intentionally," outlining three guiding principles to help:
- Communicate proactively and transparently
- Empower employees with education
- Focus on human-centric technology
"This is our foundation. To close this gap, we employers should focus on three things: being transparent about data security, educating employees so they feel empowered, and keeping humans at the centre of our technology," Roth said.
Importance of personalisation
The findings come as employees also recognise the importance of personalisation when it comes to decisions surrounding their benefits, according to the Selerix research.
Nearly three in four (73%) employees said in the report that they want a more personalised benefits experience.
Another 29% also noted that personalised recommendations are the kind of guidance that would help them the most.
The significance of personalisation in workplace benefits also comes in the wake of a multi-generational workforce, who have varying needs depending on their current stage in life.
"Each cohort needs a different benefits experience," the report read. "A monolithic enrollment can't serve all three. Flexibility and personalisation is key."
