Google is requiring employees seeking health benefits to grant a third-party AI healthcare tool access to their personal data, a policy that has sparked concern among some staff.
“Our intent was not reflected in the language on our HR site,” a Google spokesperson told Business Insider after publication, as quoted in the report. “We’ve clarified it to make clear that employees can choose to not share data, without any effect on their benefits enrollment.”
According to internal documents reviewed by Business Insider, Google recently informed U.S. employees that enrolling in health benefits through its parent company Alphabet will require them to share data with AI-driven tools from Nayya, a company that provides personalized recommendations for employee benefits.
Internal documents obtained by BI show that employees who choose not to use Nayya’s AI tool will be ineligible for health benefits. Some staff have raised questions with management about why opting out of sharing their data with Nayya would prevent them from accessing benefits.
Nayya’s platform enables employees to enter details about their health and lifestyle, then offers personalized suggestions on which benefits plans may suit them best.
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“Nayya provides core health plan operating services to optimize your benefits usage, so Alphabet health plan participants can’t entirely opt out of third-party data sharing (as permitted under HIPAA),” as per an internal resource page for employees.
“To opt out of health supplier data sharing going forward, unenroll from the Alphabet-provided benefits during Open Enrollment or when you experience a qualified Family Status Change,” the internal resource page continued.
Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini told Business Insider before publication that Nayya only accesses “standard” employee data, such as demographic details, for those who opt in. She added that employees can then decide whether to use the tool and provide additional information or simply ignore it.
“This voluntary tool, which passed our internal security and privacy reviews, was added to help our employees better navigate our extensive healthcare benefit options,” Mencini told BI. “Employees must opt-in to use the tool and share their own health information, as Google does not have access to it.”
Some employees raised concerns on an internal Q&A forum, questioning why providing potentially sensitive medical information to an external tool is required in order to access health coverage. “Why are we providing our medical claims to a third-party AI tool without a way to opt out?” according to one of the questions submitted, viewed by BI.
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“This is a very dark pattern,” as per another post. “I cannot meaningfully consent to my data being shared with this company, and I do not want to consent in this manner.”
Several employees also voiced their concerns on Memegen, Google’s internal message board. One post stated: “Consent for an optional feature like ‘benefits usage optimization’ is not meaningful if it’s coupled to a must-have feature like Google’s HEALTH PLANS! The word you’re thinking of is ‘coercive.’”
A spokesperson for Nayya explained that employees who opt in can track how much of their deductible they’ve used and receive tailored plan recommendations. They also noted that Google performed a routine security and privacy assessment of Nayya’s tool.
Across the tech and corporate landscape, companies from Meta to Microsoft are integrating AI tools to enhance workplace efficiency. Google is similarly encouraging the use of AI to boost employee productivity. In the benefits space, firms like Salesforce and Walmart have also introduced AI-driven health platforms, such as Included Health, to help employees navigate and optimize their coverage.