Verified
MetLife
Experimenting- Insurance
- ~46,000 employees
- MetIQ, built in-house
- $3.2B+ tech modernization in five years
- AI in call centers and claims
MetLife deploys AI through MetIQ, a composite AI platform its own engineers built on outside foundation models, run by Bill Pappas's Global Technology and Operations group under a CEO-led framework with ownership spread across the businesses. MetLife uses AI in call centers, claims, policy administration, disability recoveries and agent coaching in Asia, and gives employees role-appropriate AI tools. MetLife credits AI and other technologies in part for cutting its direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025 but has published neither an AI-only return figure nor an AI user count.
metlife.comTheir approach to AI
- The platform
- MetIQ, a composite AI platform that MetLife engineers built on leading foundation models, combines generative and conversational AI, machine learning, document digitization and workflow automation inside MetLife's secure, cloud-enabled environment (Bill Pappas, Jun 2025).
- The models
- MetLife has not named the foundation models behind MetIQ; a Sep 2026 Group Benefits job posting describes broad access to tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Claude Cowork and Cursor, and MetLife Pet has taken applications through a ChatGPT plugin since Oct 2026.
- The reach
- MetLife says its employees have access to AI tools and an AI Academy, but has not published how many of its roughly 46,000 employees use them (2025 Sustainability Report, Jun 2026).
- The catch
- MetLife credits AI and other technologies in part for its 11.7% direct expense ratio in 2025 and says composite AI beat undisclosed 2025 financial benefit targets, but has published no return figure for AI alone and no count of employees using its AI tools.
Snapshot
- Employees
- ~46,000
- Dec 31, 2025 (2025 Form 10-K)
- Technology budget
- Not disclosed
- More than $3.2B invested to simplify and modernize technology over five years, Michel Khalaf said (May 2026)
- AI/ML headcount
- Not disclosed
- Bill Pappas put Global Technology and Operations at close to 38,000 people (Jun 2025)
- Who owns AI
- Bill Pappas, Head of GTO
- CEO-led framework with ownership across the lines of business (Jun 2025)
- Models
- Not named
- Leading foundation models behind MetIQ; Copilot, Claude Cowork and Cursor for staff (Sep 2026 job posting)
- Reach
- Not disclosed
- Role-appropriate AI tools for employees (2025); AI Academy open to every employee
- Use cases
- Count not disclosed
- Call centers, claims, policy administration, disability, finance, asset management, Asian distribution
Key findings
MetLife engineers built MetIQ, a composite AI platform on leading foundation models that combines generative and conversational AI, machine learning, document digitization and workflow automation (Bill Pappas, Jun 2025), and Global CIO Nick Nadgauda said in Jun 2026 that scaling AI from pockets of experimentation is his top initiative.
MetLife's 2026 proxy statement says Global Technology and Operations exceeded its 2025 financial benefit targets by redesigning end-to-end processes in call centers, claims and policy administration with composite AI, without disclosing the targets or the amounts.
Michel Khalaf said on Feb 5, 2026 that AI and other emerging technologies helped MetLife cut its direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025, against a 12.1% target, without separating AI's share, and said on Aug 6, 2026 that MetLife tracks model usage and token costs and that AI's gains far exceed its costs.
MetLife governs AI through a Global Responsible Artificial Intelligence Policy built on seven principles and overseen by the Board, and Chief Risk Officer Marlene Debel's team operationalized the policy with Global Technology and Operations in 2025, adding a new AI model risk inventory platform.
MetLife Asia won Insurance Asia News's 2025 award for Excellence in AI Adoption by a life insurer after embedding more than 40% of its AI use cases into business-as-usual operations and scaling personalized engagement to Japan, South Korea, China, India and Bangladesh, according to the Jan 2026 citation.
Where MetLife sits
- Stage
- Experimenting
MetLife has reported no business return it credits to AI alone: Michel Khalaf said AI and other emerging technologies helped cut the direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025 without separating AI's share (Feb 2026), and the 2026 proxy statement says composite AI beat undisclosed 2025 financial benefit targets in call centers, claims and policy administration without giving amounts. MetLife has not reported a company-wide AI rollout with a user count either: Bill Pappas, head of Global Technology and Operations, owns AI and MetIQ, and employees have role-appropriate AI tools, but MetLife has not said how many of its roughly 46,000 employees use them. MetLife is therefore at Experimenting, although AI runs in production in its call centers and claims; one quantified return it credits to AI, or an official count of employees using its AI tools, would move it to Piloting.
How the stages are defined - Ownership
- Bill Pappas, EVP and Head of Global Technology and Operations, under a CEO-led framework
- Platform
- Hybrid: MetIQ built in-house; foundation models and staff tools bought
- Models
- Foundation models not named; Microsoft Copilot, Claude Cowork and Cursor for staff
- Hosting
- Not disclosed; MetIQ is cloud enabled inside MetLife's secure environment; a 2025 job posting cites Microsoft Azure
- Reach
- Not disclosed; role-appropriate AI tools for employees (2025)
How they deploy
AI in service of New Frontier
MetLife launched New Frontier, its five-year strategy, at its Dec 12, 2024 Investor Day with a target to cut the direct expense ratio by 100 basis points, and CIO Dive reported that the investor presentation named AI-driven automation and digitization among the ways to widen margins. Bill Pappas said in Jun 2025 that MetLife treats AI as a force multiplier for that strategy, not a strategy of its own, and judges it by the value it brings customers, employees and shareholders.
One composite platform
MetLife built MetIQ so that its businesses share one governed AI platform instead of running disparate tools, InnoLead reported in Jan 2026. Bill Pappas said in Jun 2025 that MetLife engineers built MetIQ on leading foundation models over the previous year and a half, and that it combines generative AI, conversational AI, machine learning, document digitization and workflow automation. Nick Nadgauda said in Jun 2026 that MetIQ lets teams experiment, build and deploy AI in a secure, governed environment while adapting to new technology.
Redesign core processes
Bill Pappas said in Jun 2025 that MetLife's process owners are redesigning claims, service and call centers, underwriting and actuarial work with emerging tools under a high-tech, high-touch approach. MetLife's 2026 proxy statement says the redesign of end-to-end processes in call centers, claims and policy administration with composite AI beat its 2025 financial benefit targets.
Buy specialist AI where it fits
MetLife adds outside AI where a specialist already exists: Sprout.ai's claims automation, first proven in Latin America and extended to the U.S. and Asia in Jun 2025, and a ChatGPT plugin that has let MetLife Pet Insurance take applications in conversation since Oct 14, 2026. A MetLife Group Benefits job posting from Sep 2026 seeks to turn broad staff access to tools such as Claude Cowork, Microsoft Copilot and Cursor into widespread adoption.
Hold AI to return standards
Michel Khalaf said on Aug 6, 2026 that MetLife monitors its AI investments and expenses, including model usage and token costs, holds them to the same return standards as any other investment, and sees gains in growth, productivity and customer service that far exceed the costs. Bill Pappas told Digital Insurance in Sep 2026 that MetLife keeps its innovation focused on ROI and that the AI effort has no end date.
- Deployment model
- MetLife runs AI from Global Technology and Operations, Bill Pappas's organization of close to 38,000 people by his Jun 2025 count, which covers technology development, infrastructure, information and cyber security, data strategy and analytics, customer service and operations. Global CIO Nick Nadgauda, who reports to Pappas, owns application development, infrastructure, enterprise platforms and architecture, and Chief Data and Analytics Officer Tamar Shapiro leads data, data science and AI strategy. Pappas describes the framework as CEO-led with federated ownership across the lines of business, so Group Benefits, MetLife Investment Management, finance and the regions deploy AI in partnership with Global Technology and Operations, and MetLife Asia guides its AI work through what it calls the MetLife AI Engine.
- Model providers
- MetLife has not named the foundation models behind MetIQ; Bill Pappas said in Jun 2025 only that MetLife engineers built it on leading foundational large language models. A MetLife Group Benefits job posting dated Sep 15, 2026 describes broad access to AI tools such as Claude Cowork, Microsoft Copilot and Cursor and refers to Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT workflows. MetLife buys claims automation from Sprout.ai and sells MetLife Pet Insurance through a ChatGPT plugin, and Insurance Asia News reported in Jan 2026 that Microsoft recognized MetLife Asia as an AI Agent of Change.
- Data and infrastructure
- Bill Pappas said in Jun 2025 that MetIQ sits inside MetLife's cyber-secure environment and is data powered and cloud enabled, without naming a cloud provider, and that MetLife moves priority data onto modern platforms exposed through reusable APIs, scored with a data governance maturity index and tracked with lineage and cataloging tools. MetLife's 2026 proxy statement says Global Technology and Operations beat its 2025 targets for application modernization and cloud adoption, modernized data platforms and strengthened data governance through modern data hubs. A MetLife job posting for its corporate technology team in India, taken down in Dec 2025, describes migrating on-premises applications and services to Microsoft Azure and running CI/CD pipelines for machine learning models. MetLife's Global Technology Hub in Cary, North Carolina had 2,600 employees in Dec 2024.
Platforms and internal tools
MetIQBy Jun 2025
MetIQ is MetLife's composite AI platform, built by MetLife engineers on leading foundation models, which combines generative and conversational AI, machine learning, document digitization and workflow automation, and which InnoLead said in Jan 2026 lets MetLife plug in generative and agentic AI. MetLife's 2026 proxy statement says Global Technology and Operations expanded MetIQ in 2025 with sandbox experimentation, reusable architecture and responsible-use standards, and Nick Nadgauda said in Jun 2026 that MetIQ lets teams experiment, build and deploy AI with controls on data, privacy and risk.
- Models
- Foundation models not named
MetLife AI Engine (Asia)
MetLife AI Engine is the name MetLife Asia gives to the guidance behind its AI initiatives, which Insurance Asia News said in Jan 2026 cover lead generation, distribution management, customer service, ongoing engagement and AI role-play coaching for agents. MetLife has not described the MetLife AI Engine further.
AI Academy
AI Academy is MetLife's online training portal with certifications and courses in generative AI, critical thinking and prompt engineering for employees at every skill level and business function. MetLife also uses AI to recommend learning in its MyLearning platform and to match employees to roles in its MyPath talent marketplace (2025 Form 10-K and 2025 Sustainability Report).
UpwiseBy Jun 2025
Upwise gives U.S. employees personalized recommendations for choosing and using their benefits, with reminders after enrollment; Bill Pappas called it an AI-powered tool in Jun 2025, and MetLife expanded Upwise Choose to employers through the Workday Marketplace.
MetLife Pet Insurance in ChatGPTOct 2026
MetLife Pet Insurance's ChatGPT plugin lets pet owners answer application questions in conversation, get a binding quote and finish the purchase on the MetLife Pet website; MetLife says it is the first major pet insurer to take applications this way.
- Models
- OpenAI ChatGPT
Vendors and partners
Sprout.aiJun 2025
Claims automation integrated into MetLife's claims systems · MetLife extended Sprout.ai from Latin America, where it improved claim turnaround times, to the U.S. and Asia in Jun 2025; MetLife U.S. CIO Venkata Natarajan was quoted on the partnership.
OpenAIOct 2026
ChatGPT plugin channel for MetLife Pet Insurance · MetLife's release names ChatGPT and its plugin library; MetLife has announced no other agreement with OpenAI.
Microsoft
Microsoft Copilot for staff; Azure cloud migration in at least one technology group · A Sep 2026 job posting names Microsoft Copilot among staff AI tools and a 2025 posting for a corporate technology team in India describes moving on-premises applications to Microsoft Azure; Microsoft recognized MetLife as an AI Agent of Change (Insurance Asia News, Jan 2026).
Anthropic
Claude Cowork named among staff AI tools · A MetLife Group Benefits job posting from Sep 2026 lists Claude Cowork and Claude workflows; MetLife has announced no agreement with Anthropic.
Cursor
AI coding tool named among staff AI tools · Named in the Sep 2026 Group Benefits job posting alongside Replit and Lovable; MetLife has announced no agreement.
Leadership
AI, data and platform leaders
Executives
AI org map
AI platform and delivery in Global Technology and Operations; CEO-led framework with ownership in the lines of business
MetLife runs AI from Global Technology and Operations, led by Executive Leadership Team member Bill Pappas, under a framework Pappas describes as CEO-led with federated ownership across the lines of business. Global CIO Nick Nadgauda, who reports to Pappas, owns the platforms and architecture that MetIQ runs on, and Chief Data and Analytics Officer Tamar Shapiro leads data, data science and AI strategy within the same organization. Chief Risk Officer Marlene Debel's team operationalized the Responsible Use of AI Policy with Global Technology and Operations in 2025, and the MetLife Board oversees the responsible AI governance and risk management framework.
MetLife's AI work sits mainly in Global Technology and Operations, which Bill Pappas put at close to 38,000 people across 40 markets in Jun 2025 and which includes the Global CIO's platform and architecture teams, Tamar Shapiro's data and analytics office, customer service and operations, and a Global Technology Hub of 2,600 employees in Cary, North Carolina (Dec 2024). MetLife reported about 46,000 employees at the end of 2025 and has not said how many of the 38,000 are employees rather than contractors, nor how many data scientists or AI engineers it employs. MetLife job postings show a Vice President of Automation & AI whose team oversees a hybrid automation and AI platform ecosystem (taken down Dec 2025), a VP, AI Transformation in the Emerging Tech organization reporting to the SVP of Emerging Tech Platforms & Architecture and leading an AI market intelligence team (taken down Jun 2026), and an AI tools adoption role inside Group Benefits (Sep 2026).
Reporting lines
President and CEO
Global Technology and Operations
Close to 38,000 people (Jun 2025); technology, security, data and analytics, customer service and operations. The line to the CEO is inferred from Pappas's seat on the Executive Leadership Team.
Global CIO organization
Application development, infrastructure, enterprise platforms and architecture
Chief Data and Analytics Office
AI, data science and data engineering strategy; direct manager not published
U.S. technology
Venkata Natarajan, U.S. CIO
Title as of Jun 2025; reporting line not published
Global Risk Management
Marlene Debel, Chief Risk Officer
Responsible Use of AI Policy and AI model risk inventory, with Global Technology and Operations
Finance and MetLife Investment Management
John McCallion, CFO
U.S. Business
Ramy Tadros, Regional President
Group Benefits
Asia
Lyndon Oliver, Regional President
MetLife Asia marketing and product
Sanjeev Kapur, CMO and Head of Product
MetLife has published that Nick Nadgauda reports to Bill Pappas (Dec 2024) and that Tamar Shapiro joined Global Technology and Operations (Jul 2024), but not Shapiro's direct manager, where Venkata Natarajan's U.S. technology team sits, or the reporting lines of the executives on its Executive Leadership Team, which are inferred. MetLife has not published how many AI, data science or automation staff it employs or how they split across functions.
Named people
Use cases
MetLife has not published a count of its AI use cases; it names AI in global call centers, claims, policy administration, disability recoveries, finance, investment management, benefits recommendations, a ChatGPT sales channel and agent coaching in Asia. MetLife has published no business return for any single AI use case. At the firm level, Michel Khalaf said AI and other emerging technologies helped cut the direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025 against a 12.1% target, without separating AI's share, and the 2026 proxy statement says composite AI beat its 2025 financial benefit targets in call centers, claims and policy administration, without amounts.
| Use case | Area | Status | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call center authentication, intent and call summaries MetLife deploys AI across its global call centers to authenticate customers, confirm why they are calling and summarize calls for associates, and says its call center investments have increased self-service and reduced transfers. | Customer service | In production | |
| Claims automation MetLife uses automated processes across the claims lifecycle to raise digital intake and auto-adjudication, and integrates Sprout.ai's AI into its existing claims systems to automate claims decisions in the U.S., Asia and Latin America. | Claims | In production | |
| Policy administration redesign with composite AI Global Technology and Operations reengineered end-to-end policy administration processes with composite AI solutions in 2025, alongside call centers and claims. | Operations | In production | |
| Disability claim recoveries MetLife applies data analytics and AI to disability claims management, and Ramy Tadros said in Aug 2026 that those investments are driving improved recoveries. | Group Benefits | In production | |
| Upwise benefits recommendations Upwise recommends which benefits U.S. employees should choose and nudges them to use those benefits during the year; Upwise Choose is also offered through the Workday Marketplace. | Group Benefits | In production | |
| MetLife Pet Insurance in ChatGPT MetLife Pet Insurance's ChatGPT plugin takes pet insurance applications in conversation and returns a binding quote before the customer buys on the MetLife Pet website. | Group Benefits | In production | |
| Underwriting and actuarial process redesign Bill Pappas said in Jun 2025 that MetLife's process owners are redesigning underwriting and actuarial processes with emerging tools, as part of the same program that covers claims and call centers. | Underwriting and actuarial | Announced | |
| Agent role-play and coaching MetLife Asia gives agents AI role-play tools with real-time coaching, which MetLife says scaled quickly across its largest Asian markets. | Asia | In production | |
| Personalized engagement and lead generation MetLife Asia uses AI for lead generation, distribution management and personalized customer engagement in Japan, South Korea, China, India and Bangladesh, and projected more than 100,000 personalized engagements in 2025. | Asia | In production | |
| MetLife One recommendations in Korea MetLife's MetLife One app in Korea uses AI to tailor product and service recommendations for customers and MetLife agents. | Asia | In production | |
| AI in finance and investment management MetLife expanded AI across finance and MetLife Investment Management in 2025 for analysis, operational efficiency, decision support and process simplification. | Finance and MetLife Investment Management | In production | |
| Role-appropriate AI tools for employees MetLife expanded employee access to role-appropriate AI tools in 2025, and a Group Benefits job posting from Sep 2026 names Claude Cowork, Microsoft Copilot and Cursor among the tools it aims to move from broad access to widespread adoption. | Firmwide | In production | |
| AI learning recommendations and talent matching MetLife's MyLearning platform recommends learning from AI-identified focus skills, and its MyPath marketplace uses AI to match employees with projects and apprenticeships. | Human resources | In production |
Adoption
MetLife has published no count of AI users. MetLife's 2025 Sustainability Report, published on Jun 30, 2026, says employees have access to AI tools and an AI Academy with courses for every skill level and business function, and the 2026 proxy statement says Global Technology and Operations expanded access to role-appropriate AI tools in 2025. Nick Nadgauda said in Jun 2026 that MetLife was scaling AI from pockets of experimentation and that AI had become part of how work gets done in engineering, operations and customer-facing teams, while a Sep 2026 Group Benefits job posting still describes the task as turning broad access to tools into widespread adoption. MetLife Asia reported the clearest adoption figure: more than 40% of its AI use cases embedded in business-as-usual operations in 2025, according to Insurance Asia News.
By the numbers
Rollout, first pilot to today
Jul 2024
MetLife hired Tamar Shapiro as Chief Data and Analytics Officer in Global Technology and Operations.
Dec 2024
MetLife launched its five-year New Frontier strategy, and CIO Dive reported that the investor presentation named AI-driven automation and digitization among the ways to expand margins.
Mar 2025
Nick Nadgauda joined MetLife from Citi as Global CIO, reporting to Bill Pappas.
Jun 2025
Bill Pappas described MetIQ, the composite AI platform MetLife engineers built on foundation models over the prior year and a half, and Upwise, an AI-powered benefits recommendation tool launched in the prior six months.
Jun 2025
MetLife extended Sprout.ai claims automation from Latin America to the U.S. and Asia.
Jan 2026
Insurance Asia News named MetLife Asia its 2025 winner for Excellence in AI Adoption by a life insurer, citing more than 40% of AI use cases in business-as-usual operations.
Feb 2026
Michel Khalaf said AI and other emerging technologies helped MetLife lower its 2025 direct expense ratio to 11.7%, and John McCallion said MetLife was benefiting from adopting AI tools broadly.
Apr 2026
MetLife's proxy statement reported that MetIQ expanded in 2025, employees gained role-appropriate AI tools, composite AI beat its financial benefit targets and a new AI model risk inventory platform went live.
Jun 2026
MetLife's 2025 Sustainability Report described AI deployed across its global call centers for customer authentication, intent confirmation and call summaries.
Oct 2026
MetLife Pet Insurance began taking applications through a ChatGPT plugin.
Economics & controls
Spend and ROI
Technology spending
MetLife does not disclose an annual technology budget. Michel Khalaf said on May 7, 2026 that MetLife had invested more than $3.2 billion over the past five years to simplify and modernize its technology, without saying how much went to AI; Digital Insurance's Sep 2026 headline called it a $3.2 billion push into AI. MetLife's 2026 proxy statement says Global Technology and Operations beat its 2025 targets for application modernization and cloud adoption.
What AI itself costs
MetLife has not disclosed what it spends on AI. Michel Khalaf said on Aug 6, 2026 that MetLife monitors its AI-related investments and expenses, including model usage and token costs, holds them to the same return standards as other investments, and that the gains in growth, productivity and customer service far exceed the costs.
Reported ROI
MetLife's direct expense ratio fell to 11.7% in 2025 from 12.1% in 2024, beating the 12.1% target, and Michel Khalaf said on Feb 5, 2026 that AI and other emerging technologies helped, without separating AI's share. MetLife's 2026 proxy statement says Global Technology and Operations exceeded its 2025 financial benefit targets by redesigning call center, claims and policy administration processes with composite AI, without stating the targets or the amounts. MetLife's 2026 target is a 12.1% ratio, including about 50 basis points from the PineBridge acquisition, and the New Frontier target remains 11.3% by 2029; the ratio was 11.9% in the first quarter of 2026 and 12.1% in the second. Khalaf said on May 7, 2026 that AI embedded in core operations is reducing complexity and costs, which shows in the steady improvement of the ratio, and said in Aug 2026 that MetLife stayed on target through expense management and productivity gains from AI and other technologies; neither statement separates AI's share.
Productivity markers
MetLife's 2025 Sustainability Report says MetLife's call center investments increased self-service and reduced transfers, without crediting AI by name, and that automated claims processes increased digital intake and auto-adjudication, without figures for either. Ramy Tadros said in Aug 2026 that data analytics and AI investments are improving disability recoveries in Group Benefits. MetLife said in Jun 2025 that Sprout.ai's claims automation had improved claim turnaround times in Latin America, without figures.
Headcount
MetLife had approximately 46,000 employees at Dec 31, 2025, and has not tied any change in headcount to AI. Bill Pappas said in Jun 2025 that today's leaders are likely the last generation to manage a human-only workforce and that MetLife must be able to reskill at scale, and the 2026 proxy statement credits Global Technology and Operations with organizational reshaping through simplification and targeted upskilling in 2025. Ramy Tadros said in Feb 2026 that MetLife's U.S. outlook assumes client employment cuts, AI-driven or otherwise, continue in 2026.
Governance and risk
Board oversight
MetLife's Board oversees the company's responsible AI governance and risk management framework alongside its information security program, according to the 2026 proxy statement, and directors receive continuing education on data and analytics, AI and cyber resilience.
Responsible Use of AI Policy
MetLife's Global Responsible Artificial Intelligence Policy rests on seven principles: fairness; transparency and explainability; privacy; accountability; performance; data governance, quality and retention; and resiliency and security (2025 Sustainability Report). Chief Risk Officer Marlene Debel's team operationalized the policy with Global Technology and Operations in 2025 and implemented a new AI model risk inventory platform, according to the 2026 proxy statement.
CEO-led framework
Bill Pappas said in Jun 2025 that MetLife's AI framework is CEO-led with federated ownership across the lines of business, guided by responsible-use principles of fairness, transparency, privacy, security and performance. Pappas said MetLife scores data ownership and quality with an industry governance maturity index and tracks data with lineage and cataloging tools.
Controls inside MetIQ
Nick Nadgauda said in Jun 2026 that MetIQ lets MetLife teams build and deploy AI in a secure, governed environment with strong controls around data, privacy and risk, and MetLife's 2026 proxy statement says MetIQ's expansion in 2025 included sandbox experimentation under responsible-use standards. Michel Khalaf said in Aug 2026 that governance and risk oversight remain central to how MetLife deploys AI.
Regulation and disclosed risks
MetLife's 2025 Form 10-K says the NAIC and state insurance regulators are focused on unfair discrimination in the use of consumer data and AI, that some states have passed laws on it, and that MetLife is assessing the effect of the EU AI Act, which applies generally from Aug 2026. The 10-K also warns, alongside its AI risks, that MetLife may fail to adopt new technologies as effectively as others, and that AI rules that vary by jurisdiction make compliance harder.
Recent signals
Oct 14, 2026
MetLife Pet Insurance launched a ChatGPT plugin that takes pet insurance applications in conversation, which MetLife called a first for a major pet insurer.
Sep 23, 2026
Bill Pappas told Digital Insurance that MetLife keeps its innovation focused on ROI and that its AI effort has no end date.
Sep 15, 2026
MetLife Group Benefits advertised a director role to turn broad access to AI tools such as Claude Cowork, Microsoft Copilot and Cursor into widespread adoption.
Aug 6, 2026
Michel Khalaf said on the Q2 2026 call that AI is becoming a structural advantage for MetLife, that it tracks model usage and token costs, and that AI's gains far exceed its costs.
Jun 30, 2026
MetLife published its 2025 Sustainability Report, which says MetLife is deploying AI across its global call centers to authenticate customers, confirm intent and summarize calls.
Jun 8, 2026
Global CIO Nick Nadgauda told CIO.com that his top initiative is scaling AI from pockets of experimentation and described MetIQ as MetLife's internal composite AI platform.
May 26, 2026
CDO Magazine named MetLife Chief Data and Analytics Officer Tamar Shapiro to its global board, describing her remit across AI, data science and data engineering.
May 7, 2026
Michel Khalaf said on the Q1 2026 call that MetLife had invested more than $3.2 billion in five years to simplify and modernize its technology, and that AI embedded in core operations is reducing complexity and costs.
Apr 29, 2026
MetLife's proxy statement said composite AI beat its 2025 financial benefit targets in call centers, claims and policy administration, and that a new AI model risk inventory platform went live.
Feb 19, 2026
MetLife's 2025 Form 10-K reported about 46,000 employees, flagged AI regulation including the EU AI Act, and warned that MetLife may adopt new technologies less effectively than others.
Feb 5, 2026
Michel Khalaf said AI and other emerging technologies helped MetLife cut its direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025, ahead of its 12.1% target.
Jan 30, 2026
InnoLead reported that MetLife built MetIQ to avoid fragmented AI tools across its businesses and to plug in generative and agentic AI.
Jan 2026
Insurance Asia News named MetLife Asia its 2025 winner for Excellence in AI Adoption by a life insurer.
Quick answers
- How does MetLife deploy AI?
- MetLife deploys AI through MetIQ, a composite AI platform its own engineers built on outside foundation models, run by Bill Pappas's Global Technology and Operations group under a CEO-led framework with ownership spread across the businesses. MetLife uses AI in call centers, claims, policy administration, disability recoveries and agent coaching in Asia, and gives employees role-appropriate AI tools. MetLife credits AI and other technologies in part for cutting its direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025 but has published neither an AI-only return figure nor an AI user count.
- What does MetLife use AI for?
- MetLife has not published a count of its AI use cases; it names AI in global call centers, claims, policy administration, disability recoveries, finance, investment management, benefits recommendations, a ChatGPT sales channel and agent coaching in Asia. MetLife has published no business return for any single AI use case. At the firm level, Michel Khalaf said AI and other emerging technologies helped cut the direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025 against a 12.1% target, without separating AI's share, and the 2026 proxy statement says composite AI beat its 2025 financial benefit targets in call centers, claims and policy administration, without amounts.
- Who leads AI at MetLife?
- AI at MetLife is led by Bill Pappas (EVP and Head of Global Technology and Operations); Nick Nadgauda (EVP and Global Chief Information Officer); Tamar Shapiro (Chief Data and Analytics Officer). Ownership of AI on the org chart: Bill Pappas, EVP and Head of Global Technology and Operations, under a CEO-led framework.
- What AI platform does MetLife use?
- MetIQ, a composite AI platform that MetLife engineers built on leading foundation models, combines generative and conversational AI, machine learning, document digitization and workflow automation inside MetLife's secure, cloud-enabled environment (Bill Pappas, Jun 2025).
- Which AI models does MetLife use?
- MetLife has not named the foundation models behind MetIQ; a Sep 2026 Group Benefits job posting describes broad access to tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Claude Cowork and Cursor, and MetLife Pet has taken applications through a ChatGPT plugin since Oct 2026.
- How many MetLife employees use AI?
- MetLife says its employees have access to AI tools and an AI Academy, but has not published how many of its roughly 46,000 employees use them (2025 Sustainability Report, Jun 2026).
- How far has AI spread at MetLife?
- MetLife has reported no business return it credits to AI alone: Michel Khalaf said AI and other emerging technologies helped cut the direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025 without separating AI's share (Feb 2026), and the 2026 proxy statement says composite AI beat undisclosed 2025 financial benefit targets in call centers, claims and policy administration without giving amounts. MetLife has not reported a company-wide AI rollout with a user count either: Bill Pappas, head of Global Technology and Operations, owns AI and MetIQ, and employees have role-appropriate AI tools, but MetLife has not said how many of its roughly 46,000 employees use them. MetLife is therefore at Experimenting, although AI runs in production in its call centers and claims; one quantified return it credits to AI, or an official count of employees using its AI tools, would move it to Piloting.
Open questions
- Which foundation models run behind MetIQ, and in which clouds or MetLife data centers does inference run?
- How many MetLife employees use MetIQ or the role-appropriate AI tools each week, and which tools, such as Microsoft Copilot or Claude, are licensed firmwide?
- How many AI use cases does MetLife run in production, and how did MetLife Asia count the more than 40% it says are in business-as-usual operations?
- What were the 2025 financial benefit targets for composite AI in call centers, claims and policy administration, and by how much did MetLife exceed them?
- How much of the drop in MetLife's direct expense ratio to 11.7% in 2025 came from AI rather than other expense actions?
- What does MetLife spend on AI itself, including the model usage and token costs Michel Khalaf says it monitors?
- How much of the more than $3.2 billion MetLife says it invested in technology over five years went to AI, and which years does the figure cover?
- What business return have call center AI, Sprout.ai claims automation and the disability recovery models delivered in dollars, cost per claim or headcount?
- Who runs MetIQ, the Automation & AI group and the Emerging Tech organization day to day under Bill Pappas and Nick Nadgauda, and how many AI and data science staff does MetLife employ?
Sources
MetLife
- MetLife Global Executive Leadership Team
- Bill Pappas, Head of Global Technology and Operations, biography
- Michel A. Khalaf, President and CEO, biography
- MetLife names Nick Nadgauda Global Chief Information Officer (Dec 18, 2024)
- MetLife adds Tamar Shapiro to Global Technology and Operations (Jul 30, 2024)
- MetLife unveils New Frontier strategy at 2024 Investor Day (Dec 12, 2024)
- MetLife brings pet insurance to ChatGPT (Oct 14, 2026)
- 2025 Sustainability Report: making financial services easier to use (Jun 2026)
- 2025 Sustainability Report: talent and skills development (Jun 2026)
- 2025 Sustainability Report: responsible governance and Responsible Use of AI (Jun 2026)
- Job posting: Director, AI Tools Deployment at Scale, Group Benefits (Sep 15, 2026)
- 3BL: Living Our Purpose, MetLife publishes latest sustainability report (Jun 30, 2026)
Filings and investor materials
- MetLife 2026 proxy statement (filed Apr 29, 2026)
- MetLife 2025 Form 10-K (filed Feb 19, 2026)
- Fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings release (Feb 4, 2026)
- Fourth quarter 2025 earnings call presentation (Feb 2026)
- First quarter 2026 earnings call presentation (May 2026)
- Second quarter 2026 earnings call presentation (Aug 2026)
- Q2 2026 earnings call transcript, Benzinga via Webull (Aug 6, 2026)
- Q1 2026 earnings call transcript, MarketBeat (May 7, 2026)
- Q4 2025 earnings call transcript, MarketBeat (Feb 5, 2026)
Partners
- Life Insurance International: MetLife partners with Sprout.ai on claims automation (Jun 26, 2025)
- Coverager: MetLife partners with Sprout.ai (Jun 2025)
- Built In: MetLife job posting on Microsoft Azure adoption, India corporate technology (taken down Dec 2025)
- Built In: MetLife job posting, AVP, Composite AI Product Management & Enablement (taken down Dec 2025)
- Built In NYC: MetLife job posting, VP, AI Transformation (taken down Jun 2026)
News and interviews
- CIO.com: The 12 most strategically important IT initiatives today, Nick Nadgauda on MetIQ (Jun 8, 2026)
- Equisoft Life Accelerated podcast: Inside MetLife's new strategy for tech and operations with Bill Pappas (Jun 11, 2025)
- Metis Strategy Technovation: Bill Pappas interview (Feb 27, 2025)
- InnoLead: How MetLife built an AI platform to be a force multiplier (Jan 30, 2026)
- Digital Insurance: Inside MetLife's $3.2B push to go all-in on AI (Sep 23, 2026)
- CIO Dive: MetLife taps Citi's Nick Nadgauda as CIO (Dec 18, 2024)
- Insurance Asia News Awards for Excellence 2025: MetLife Asia, Excellence in AI Adoption (Jan 2026)
- Zacks via Yahoo Finance: How AI is becoming MetLife's long-term competitive advantage (Jul 15, 2026)
- CDO Magazine: MetLife CDAO Tamar Shapiro joins CDO Magazine Global Board (May 26, 2026)
Data confidence
- Confirmed
- Stated in a primary or reputable public source.
- Estimated
- Derived or approximated from public reporting.
- Unconfirmed
- Reported, but not yet corroborated.
MetLife profile · Enterprise AI diffusion report by Imagine · facts checked against their sources on Nov 1, 2026
