'We’re at the intersection where actual solutions are available,' says expert
Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a bigger role in reshaping how employers design, deliver and finance plans as they head into 2026, according to one expert.
“We’ve been talking about AI for a while, but I think we’re at the intersection where actual solutions are available and are implemented,” says Daniel Drolet, senior partner at Normandin Beaudry.
For HR and benefits teams, there are two immediate payoffs: quicker, more accurate information and service to support employers and their employees, and cost savings, he says.
“They’re expecting their providers to be able to leverage this into actual savings because there’s still cost pressures on the plan.”
At the same time, macroeconomic pressures are forcing leadership to look harder at benefits spending. Drolet says inflation is between 2% and 3% in a lot of the countries, while benefits are increasing at 8% to 10%: “So, it’s triple, quadruple the consumer price index and the inflation, the general inflation.”
That gap is drawing finance directly into HR’s world. “CFOs are looking more into benefits than before because costs are increasing,” he says. “If I spend 10% more in the benefits, tell me what’s in it for us as an employer.”
Drolet argues that AI will be central to answering those questions, by making it quicker to gather the data and analyse it. But he also warns there is a bottleneck because insurance...
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