Before Your Insurance Agency Buys More AI Software in 2027

Find out what is slowing people down

An employee can understand their job and still struggle with the software.

They know what information they need to record. They just cannot find the right field. Or they remember how to complete a task, but the screens have changed since they last did it.

So they search for instructions or ask someone nearby.

That is easy to overlook when each interruption takes only a few minutes. But the colleague answering the question has stopped working too.

Before looking at AI products, ask your team to show you a few examples. Watch the task from beginning to end, including the waiting, searching and checking.

Then ask what caused the delay.

Was the employee unfamiliar with the software? Was information missing? Did two systems fail to share data? Was a feature difficult to find?

Those are different problems. One tool may not solve all of them.

Look at what you already pay for

Your current software should be part of the conversation.

Ask your vendor to demonstrate how it handles a task your team finds difficult. Use your example rather than relying only on their prepared presentation.

Find out whether the feature is included in your plan, needs extra setup or costs more.

Training resources are worth checking too. EZLynx, for example, offers training materials, webinars, workshops and weekly office hours. Your team may have access to help it is not using.

Vendors are also adding AI. Some agency management systems now offer help with software questions inside the system. Ask your vendor what is available on your plan today and whether it can use your agency’s own procedures.

That does not mean you should wait indefinitely for your vendor. It means you should understand what is available before paying for something that overlaps.

Ask what works today. Treat anything on a future roadmap as a plan.

Be specific about what you want AI to do

“Help us use AI” is too broad a brief for a software purchase.

These are more useful:

• Help new employees learn the screens they use most.
• Find information in documents and show where it came from.
• Reduce repeated data entry between systems.
• Complete an approved software task, with a person reviewing important changes.

Each gives you something concrete to test.

It also helps you see the difference between a tool that explains a task, one that shows the steps and one that takes action. Ask the vendor to demonstrate exactly which of those it does.

There is a learning gap on the buying side too. In Liberty Mutual’s 2026 study of US independent agency principals and staff, only 29% of principals said they knew enough about AI to make business decisions about it.

You do not need to become an AI engineer to evaluate a product. You do need clear answers about the work it supports and its limits.

Test it with the people who will use it

Choose one task and a small group of employees. Record how they complete it today, then try the tool.

Include someone who is still learning the software. A demonstration run by an expert can hide the difficulties a new user will encounter.

Watch what happens when information is missing or the employee asks an unclear question. Can they recover? Do they understand what the tool did? Do they need more help than before?

For any tool that can change records, check permissions, approval steps and the record of changes. Before using client information, review what the vendor can access, where the data goes and how long it is kept.

Measure the whole task. Include setup, checking and corrections, not just the part the AI completes quickly.

Then ask employees whether they want to keep using it. Their answer matters. A subscription that nobody uses adds another expense.

If the test saves time, decide what your team will do with that time. It might mean clearing a backlog, responding sooner or spending less of the day answering software questions.

Where I’m coming from

I build AgenQ, so I spend a lot of time thinking about how people learn and use software.

AgenQ is AI training and onboarding software for insurance teams.

It works in two modes. Training Mode shows users each step on their screen while they do the work. Execution Mode completes tasks your team has approved.

That addresses one problem: people who know the task but need help doing it in the software. Other problems may need better connections between systems, a different feature or a simpler setup.

I would apply the same test to AgenQ as to any other tool: let your employees use it on a task that matters, then look at what improved.

Before your next software purchase, ask your team:

“Show me one thing in our software that keeps slowing you down.”

That is a useful place to begin your AI plan for 2027.

Sources

• EZLynx training and support: https://www.ezlynx.com/why-ezlynx/onboarding-support/
• Vertafore: https://www.vertafore.com/resources/press-releases/vertafore-launches-velocity-coach-agent-drive-employee-proficiency
• Liberty Mutual 2026 Independent Agency Growth Study: https://www.agentforthefuture.com/topics/all-reports/2026-independent-agency-growth-study/