Most employers want artificial intelligence (AI) to help improve workforce health, but the vast majority aren’t doing anything about it.
This is according to YuLife’s AI in HR Report 2026 which polled 585 senior business and HR leaders and found more than eight in 10 (83.2%) wanted AI to help improve workforce health, from preventing absence to predicting health risks. Yet only 8.2% were found to be using AI to act on workforce health today.
The report also found almost a quarter (23.4%) of those polled collect health and wellbeing data but do nothing with it, and just one in eight (12.5%) were trialling AI to predict absence, burnout or staff leaving, against 37.9% who want AI to help reduce absence.
After freeing up admin time (78.1%), leaders’ top priorities for the year ahead were reducing absence before it happens and building the data case for investing in employee health (both 37.9%), followed by predicting and tracking workforce health (32.6%) and personalised health support for each employee (26.2%).
Tal Gilbert, CEO of YuLife, (pictured) said: “Business leaders are starting to realise that AI success depends on people as much as technology. Yet many companies are focused on reducing cost, rather than improving health and productivity.
“The biggest opportunity is spotting that someone is struggling early enough to help, so they stay well, stay in work, and avoid months off sick.
“Our job is to give employers an anonymised, live, view of how their workforce is doing, so they can act while there’s still time.”