Can AI Really Optimize Benefit Access? Founders on the Frontlines

More than $140 billion in public benefits goes unclaimed every year, not because the money isn’t there, but because the systems meant to deliver it have never worked well for the people who need them most. A new wave of founders is betting that AI can change that. From automating pretax savings for hourly workers to rebuilding benefits eligibility infrastructure for low-income families, the work is real and already at scale. But technology alone doesn’t fix systems shaped by policy failures and eroded trust. This panel brings together three founders doing this work every day to talk honestly about what AI can and can’t do in the benefits space.