From Hype to Help: How AI Is Actually Moving the Needle in School HR
The question we set out to answer
AI is everywhere. It can help you write faster or tidy up an email, but can it actually change the game for school HR?
We wanted to know: Can AI take on big, time-consuming chunks of work in a consistent, repeatable way, so HR teams can focus on the work only a human can do? Recruiting, selecting, onboarding, and retaining the best people isn’t busywork - it’s the heart of your district’s success. If AI can free you up to spend more time there, then it’s not just helpful. It’s transformative.
Why we started with benefits
Benefits are complex, high-impact, and chronically under-resourced. In many districts, a “benefits department” is one person juggling State Health, TRS, PSERS, Social Security, COBRA, leave, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, and multiple enrollment systems - often while supporting payroll or general HR. Questions come 24/7, and a meaningful portion of your workforce is more comfortable in a language other than English.
That’s a perfect use case for an AI assistant - if it can be trusted.
The first try: “Just Give It the Documents” (spoiler: it didn’t work)
Our first build was the obvious one: load plan documents, carrier brochures, and policy PDFs into a bot and let the model “explain” them. On paper, it sounded great but legalese plus convoluted plan language produced:
Hard-to-understand answers
Occasional hallucinations (the kind of wrong you can’t allow in benefits)
Erosion of trust for both employees and HR
We shut that version down.
The turning point: teach the bot like you’d teach a new benefits specialist
We stepped back and asked: What do we actually rely on to help employees make the right decisions? Not dense plan documents. We rely on 25 years of plain‑language guides, scenario-based presentations, and thousands of real email answers our team has written to help Georgia school employees decide what to do, not just learn what a deductible is.
So, we rebuilt the assistant with a curated knowledge base written for humans, by humans, and layered in strict guardrails:
Only-approved content (our vetted knowledge, client-specific plan rules, and district policies)
Escalation logic to refer edge cases to a human
Multilingual support so employees can ask questions in their preferred language
Lots of testing, monitoring and measuring!
That’s when the magic happened.
Meet Bette: your district’s on-demand benefits expert
This summer, we launched Bette, an AI assistant trained on each district’s actual benefits program and the practical guidance HR already gives employees. After a lot of testing and trial and training, we leveraged all the existing knowledge and made it accessible at the moment of need and in the language that works for the employee.
How Bette helps employees
Answers accurately, 24/7, in any language
Explains choices, not just definitions (e.g., “Given your situation, here’s what to think about when considering the HMO vs. HRA.”)
Asks questions to tailor answers for actives, new hires, and retirees
Never gets tired and never forgets
It keeps getting better: Bette isn’t just for employees. She’s become a force multiplier for benefits teams.
How Bette helps HR
Clears the inbox. Faster, consistent answers reduce back-and-forth and cut response time.
Onboards new staff. New benefits specialists learn the “house way” by seeing both what Bette says in terms of plan details but also how Bette handles common scenarios.
Standardizes guidance. Everyone gets the same, policy-aligned answer - no more “it depends on who picks up the phone.”
Captures data. Conversation insights reveal what’s confusing employees so you can improve communications and training.
Want your own Bette?
If you’re ready to trade AI hype for helpful, human-centered support, let’s talk. We’ll bring the tech, and the 25 years of school HR know‑how that makes it work.