Author: Michelle Brown
AI is now firmly part of the workplace conversation. But if the conversation stops at technology, organisations risk missing the bigger opportunity.
The real value of AI lies in what it can help us understand: how people think, what they need, what gets in the way and what will help them act. For organisations in any sector, this matters across HR, internal communications, reward, benefits and retirement. Engagement is no longer about sending more communications or launching more tools; it's about designing experiences that influence behaviour and improve outcomes.
At Gallagher, this isn't a new ambition. Across our communications, People Science and retirement work, we have used data, analytics, predictive modelling and behavioural insight for years to understand audiences more deeply, meet people where they are and help clients move from communication activity to data-led impact.
The question isn't "which tool?," but "what problem are we solving?"
Many organisations are asking understandable questions about AI: which platforms to use, what to automate and where efficiency can be improved. Those questions matter, but they are not enough on their own.
A better question is: what are we trying to help people understand, decide or do differently?
That shift changes the role of AI. It becomes less about technology for technology's sake and more about capability: analysing data, identifying patterns beneath the average, segmenting audiences, personalising experiences and measuring what has made a difference.
From communication activity to behavioural insight
For years, audience engagement has often been measured through activity: emails sent, pages viewed, events attended and surveys completed. Those measures still have a role, but they rarely tell the full story.
More meaningful insight comes from understanding what sits beneath those measures. Which groups aren't engaging? Where do people drop out of a journey? What motivates them, and what is getting in the way?
AI can help answer these questions by analysing large volumes of data, surfacing patterns and helping organisations test and adapt more quickly. But interpretation still matters: data can show what is happening, behavioural insight helps explain why and good design turns that understanding into action.
People Science makes the difference
People are complex. We all bring opinions, experiences and influences to the decisions we make, especially when those decisions involve money, benefits or our future selves.
As our Head of People Science, Vinny Foreman, often says, our role is to help clients remove the guesswork around what matters most to their people. That means understanding what motivates people, what gets in the way and what will move them to act.
That is why expertise still matters. AI doesn't replace human judgement; it makes the ability to interpret data, understand context and design meaningful interventions even more important.
