1. Employees are asking AI rather than HR for answers. What do you think this says about the current state of trust between employees and HR?
I think this shift signals something very human. Most people don’t want to reveal something personal or admit they’re confused about their benefits, especially to HR. It’s not a lack of trust; it’s a natural hesitation that many of us can relate to. AI gives employees a place to ask questions without fear of judgment, and that privacy lowers the barrier to getting help.
At the same time, Nayya’s research shows that trust in employers remains strong. Eighty-five percent of employees say they have high confidence in their company’s data practices. So the issue isn’t a breakdown in trust. It’s a signal that employees want support that feels private, accessible, and available on their terms. The opportunity for HR teams now is to meet employees where they already are by pairing trusted data practices with tools that feel safe, are purpose-built for benefits, and are easy to use.
2. Where do you see the biggest gaps between what employees expect from AI-powered guidance and what HR teams are currently equipped to deliver?
The biggest gaps are speed, specificity, and readiness. Employees now expect fast, personalized, AI-powered benefits guidance, and Nayya’s research shows why: nearly three quarters already use AI for personal finance, healthcare, and wellbeing decisions. Employee expectations have shifted, shaped by the tools they rely on every day.
Most HR teams are still catching up. A small number have adopted purpose-built AI designed for benefits, but the majority are still evaluating how to bring these tools into their workflows while employees rely on generic AI that isn’t built for accuracy or compliance. The result is a clear expectation gap between the support employees want and the support HR teams are resourced to deliver.
3. What’s one area where HR should not wait to adopt AI because employees are already ahead of them?
Benefits support is the area where HR can’t wait. Employees are already using AI for advice on financial, healthcare, and wellbeing choices, and many are even uploading benefits documents into open systems hoping for more personalized answers. The problem is that consumer AI isn’t built for accuracy or for handling sensitive plan details, which creates real risk.
Despite that, adoption keeps accelerating. More than half of employees say they’re comfortable with AI taking agentic actions like filing claims or disputing charges because the immediate value is so high. A benefits-specific AI adviser closes that gap by providing accurate, secure, personalized guidance that consumer tools can’t match.
4. How can employers balance the convenience of AI answers with the human empathy that employees still expect in sensitive cases?
The balance comes from giving employees real options. AI can handle routine, factual questions quickly and privately, reducing the pressure people often feel when they don’t want to share something sensitive or to admit benefits confusion. That convenience covers the majority of day-to-day needs.
Still, there are moments when context or reassurance matters, and employees may choose to seek out a human. Employers can support that by keeping HR accessible for those situations and using AI to reduce the routine workload that limits HR’s capacity.
AI doesn’t replace empathy. It creates more room for HR to offer it.
5. What does “responsible AI in HR” actually look like in practice, especially when employees are using external tools the company doesn’t control?
Responsible AI in HR starts with meeting employees where they already are. Since people are already using external AI tools, employers need to offer something safer and more accurate, not try to police their behavior.
Clear communication is essential. Employees should understand what an employer-sponsored AI tool does, how it protects their information, and why it’s a better option — explained in language that works across roles and career stages.
Human oversight also matters. AI shouldn’t replace HR judgment; it should operate within policies that HR actively shapes and reviews. That visible oversight is part of responsible use.
Privacy is the final pillar. Benefits-specific AI can deliver highly personalized guidance while protecting sensitive data far more effectively than general-purpose tools because it’s designed for narrow, well-defined use cases that limit exposure.
In practice, responsible AI means recognizing existing employee behavior and providing a secure, purpose-built alternative they can trust.
6. Your report mentions employees are moving forward with AI despite hesitation. What does that “move forward anyway” moment look like inside organizations today?
Inside organizations today, the “move forward anyway” moment shows up as employees using AI across their daily routines — to get work done faster, learn new skills, look up information, and manage their health or finances. Even with concerns about privacy and human judgment, the practical value outweighs their hesitation.
For employers, adoption isn’t the hurdle — trust is. Their role is to bring structure and credibility to behavior that’s already happening. That means keeping human support accessible, ensuring experts guide and refine AI outputs, and giving employees transparency and control over how recommendations are generated.
In practice, employees aren’t waiting for perfect certainty. They’re choosing tools that help them now, and organizations that introduce secure, purpose-built AI with clear guardrails are best positioned to meet that reality.
7. Looking ahead, what does an AI-empowered HR function look like and what skills will HR need to build starting now to get there?
An AI-empowered HR function is one where technology takes on the high-volume questions and administrative tasks that overwhelm people teams, allowing HR to focus on strategy, culture, and the moments that require human judgment. In benefits, that means AI can answer common questions, compare plans, and guide employees through complex choices — work that typically consumes a significant share of HR’s time during enrollment and beyond.
To get there, HR teams will need skills suited to an AI-enabled environment. Data literacy will matter — not to build models, but to interpret real-time insights, understand engagement patterns, and identify where outcomes can improve. Communication and change-management capabilities will also become more important as organizations introduce AI-driven benefits support. And as technology absorbs more transactional work, human strengths like empathy, discretion, and contextual judgment remain central.
The future HR function isn’t replaced by AI; it’s elevated by it. Teams that build these capabilities now will be ready for a workplace where technology drives scale and precision, and humans focus on what builds trust.
About Sarah Liebel:
Sarah Liebel currently serves as the President and COO of Nayya, a technology company simplifying the benefits experience for employees, employers, and suppliers like insurance companies since June 2024. She served as the Chief Growth Officer and President at BetterUp, a digital coaching company, from March 2022 to June 2024. Prior to joining BetterUp, Ms. Liebel served as Chief Revenue Officer at 1stdibs.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: DIBS) from January 2019 to March 2022, where she oversaw the sales and operations teams at the company, including Customer Experience, Logistics, Business Operations, Trade & Private Client sales. Before joining 1stdibs in 2015, Ms. Liebel was most recently at Groupon, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRPN). During her five year tenure at Groupon, she held a number of leadership roles, including running operations & sales at Ideeli, a fashion flash sales e-commerce company, after it was acquired by Groupon, as well as leading deals on the corporate development team. Ms. Liebel received her Bachelor of Science from Tulane University and her MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. |
About Nayya:
Founded in 2019, Nayya is on a mission to connect people’s most important information, so they can thrive in their health and wealth. Nayya’s platform is the first of its kind: agentic AI that doesn’t just advise, it acts—transforming benefits from a once-a-year decision into an always-on advantage for every employee. As a trusted platform to leading employers, Nayya unlocks long-term value through helping employees live more resilient lives. Learn more at nayya.com |
