Brown & Brown outlined an expanded AI strategy during its Q1 2026 earnings call, saying the brokerage expects artificial intelligence to automate more than 25% of submission workflows across many wholesale and program businesses, while emphasizing that the technology is intended to augment employees rather than replace them.

The company said its AI initiatives are the result of more than a decade of investment in platform rationalization and data standardization, which created the infrastructure needed for large-scale AI deployment across underwriting, policy review, billing, and customer service operations.

According to management, AI agents are already being deployed within specialty distribution workflows to automate portions of the end-to-end submission process. The brokerage expects these tools to help remove operational bottlenecks, improve throughput, and accelerate underwriting turnaround times.

Brown & Brown also highlighted several additional AI use cases now in production, including:

• AI-powered policy checking agents that automate proposal comparisons and policy reviews
• Systems capable of summarizing complex insurance policies for customers
• A proprietary billing platform that interfaces with carrier portals to automate billing extraction and validation workflows

The company said the billing automation platform alone is saving more than 50,000 hours annually.

Executives framed AI primarily as a productivity and growth enabler tied closely to the advisory role brokers play in complex insurance markets.

“We don’t view AI as a teammate replacement tool,” said CEO Powell Brown during the earnings call.

Brown also argued that AI is unlikely to displace brokers handling complex middle-market and specialty risks because trust and advisory expertise remain central to the insurance buying process.

“AI does not disintermediate trust. And so our business is built on trust and good advice,” he said.

The comments align with a broader trend across the insurance sector, where brokers, carriers, and MGAs are increasingly deploying AI to automate repetitive workflows while positioning human expertise, relationship management, and risk judgment as long-term differentiators.

Brown & Brown reported Q1 2026 revenue of $1.9 billion, representing 35.4% year-over-year growth. Organic revenue growth including contingents rose 2.2%, although results were partially affected by pricing pressure in catastrophe property lines and lower flood claims processing revenue.