Which Workers Use AI and Social Media for Advice?

April 2026

The presence of nontraditional information channels has been on the rise as access to technology has expanded and evolved. In previous decades, employees primarily relied on employer materials, advisors, colleagues, or friends and family for guidance. Today, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and social media has introduced new avenues for obtaining financial advice or informing financial actions.

According to unpublished data from LIMRA’s recent study, U.S. Consumer Sentiment: July 2025, employees express “extreme confidence” in financial advisors (32%), only slightly higher than the 24% who say the same about generative AI (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT or Copilot. However, social media influencers who share financial advice (e.g., on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram) are ranked lowest in employee confidence, only 15% express extreme confidence, while 51% report no confidence at all.

By generation, employees’ extreme confidence in GenAI tools for financial guidance rises among younger generations, 32% for Generation Z and 31% for Millennials, then declines among older generations, 16% for Gen X and 9% for Baby Boomers. Employees’ extreme confidence in social media influencers shows a similar generational pattern, but with slightly lower confidence across the board.

When asked what financial actions they have taken because of GenAI or something they saw on social media, employees most commonly reported “researching a financial topic I hadn’t considered before.” They were least likely to say they purchased a financial product (e.g., insurance or investments) because of using GenAI, and they were also least likely to report changing their investment strategy or portfolio based on something they saw on social media.

Nontraditional Information Channels

As AI tools and social media platforms become more common sources of financial guidance, these nontraditional information channels are also shaping how employees approach their workplace benefits. Employees have notoriously struggled with understanding benefits information. Previous research shows that employees have a strong intent to understand their benefits, but many still fall short in deep comprehension. Unpublished data from recent LIMRA BEATS reports show that benefits understanding has remained consistently low, with 17% of respondents three years ago and 15% today reporting they understood their benefits extremely well.

Nearly half of employees receive benefits education only during the open enrollment period, a time when risk of decision fatigue is high. With limited touchpoints and increasingly jargon-heavy materials, employees may turn to these nontraditional channels such as GenAI tools or social media to supplement the formal materials they receive. In this environment, the growing availability of digital information sources may fill gaps left by traditional benefits communication.

According to LIMRA’s January 2026 U.S. Consumer Sentiment study, most employees remain hesitant to use GenAI or social media to learn about their employee benefits. Only 25% say they use GenAI (ChatGPT or Copilot) for this purpose, and just 19 percent report using social media (Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), Facebook). Importantly, once we break these usage patterns out by generation, we see a similar trend to what appeared above in employees’ financial guidance preferences, with higher adoption among Gen Z and Millennials and significantly lower use among Gen X and Baby Boomers (Figure 1).

Current use of AI or social media is further segmented by whether it is used to learn about benefits or to make benefits decisions. Younger generations tend to use both AI and social media for learning and decision making, although Gen Z shows higher social media usage to make benefits decisions (Figure 1). Among older generations, usage is limited to AI and social media for both purposes, with a slight preference for AI over social media (Figure 1).

Trust and Future Use

While current usage patterns help illustrate how employees engage with AI and social media for benefits information, usage alone doesn’t tell the full story. Employees’ trust in these tools plays a critical role in how usage will change in the future.

When asked about using GenAI as a source of information on employee benefits, 31% of employees say they trust it, while 41% say they do not, resulting in a net trust score of -10. Trust in social media is much lower: Only 18% of employees say they trust it, whereas 64% of employees do not. This combines to a net trust score of -46. Overall, employees report lower trust in social media as a source of benefits information.

These trust patterns align with employees’ expectations for future use. Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers all anticipate greater future use of AI compared to social media when making benefits decisions (Figure 2). Gen Z, however, breaks this pattern: They report similar levels of expected future use for both AI and social media, with a slight preference for social media (Figure 2).

Strategic Takeaways

As more employees turn to informal sources to supplement traditional benefits education, it becomes important for all stakeholders in the benefits ecosystem to understand the role these channels play. This extends beyond employers and carriers to include brokers, benefits technology vendors, human resources managers, and other organizations involved in employee education and decision support.

Coexisting With Nontraditional Channels

Benefits information is individualized by plan, and information provided by social media or AI could be overly generalized or even incorrect. To help employees navigate this environment, stakeholders across the benefits ecosystem (employers, carriers, brokers, technology vendors, etc.) can provide transparency around the role and limitations of these nontraditional information channels. For example, GenAI and social media may be helpful for defining unfamiliar terms or comparing general plan types, but they are far less reliable for specific coverage questions, employer-specific requirements, or cost details.

Stakeholders can frame employer- or vendor-provided materials as a “source of truth,” a resource employees can reference to verify or clarify information they receive from informal sources.

AI Integrated Systems

Another important factor for stakeholders to consider is the integration of AI within the platforms provided by benefits technology vendors. Many platforms include AI in some capacity through chatbots, decision support, or other ways. It’s important for carriers, employers, brokers, and those in the benefits ecosystem to evaluate AI integrations to ensure responsible and appropriate use. Employees should be made fully aware when AI is used within a platform, and vendors should clearly disclose how AI is integrated and what data it relies on. Vendors should disclose how their AI models are maintained, updated, and monitored.

Conclusion

Whether an employee is using AI directly or AI is working behind the scenes, it can cause errors or generalizations. Regulations around AI are evolving, and AI integrations should adhere to privacy standards as well as state and federal regulations. Overall, AI should not replace human support or be treated as a source of final advice to mitigate potential errors.

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