Agentic AI: Creating an emotionally intelligent EX

We are at a pivotal moment where the future we have long envisioned has arrived, only to reveal that it needs an upgrade. As organisations strive to meet evolving employee expectations, legacy models built on static, data-driven predictions are starting to feel outdated. They no longer align with the pace, complexity, and emotional nuance of today’s evolving workplace.

Welcome to the era of agentic AI: goal-driven, autonomous, and deeply adaptable. This next-generation technology empowers organisations to scale impact, personalise employee experiences, and humanise performance at every level. For HR leaders, it’s a transformative force, reshaping how we approach rewards, recognition, and wellbeing. We’re now entering a time where automation doesn’t just execute, it empathises. At People Matters TechHR India 2025, Smiti Bhatt Deorah, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at Advantage Club, explored this powerful intersection in her keynote session: “Agentic AI Meets EX: The Future of Recognition & Wellbeing.”

Emotionally Intelligent R&R

For years, creating great employee experiences has been about deeply understanding what people want, how they work, what drives them, and what keeps them from burning out. In a recent Humanscope Podcast, Smiti shares her company’s vision to make workplaces happier and healthier. “Good health and wellbeing have become the pinnacle of people's priorities post-Covid.” In 2025, the question is deeper: What if your R&R system truly knew your people?  The future isn’t just about smarter systems but also about emotionally intelligent ones. Imagine a platform that knows when someone deserves recognition and acts on it without being told. “Your reward system should understand that this person is working really hard... it should start nudging you,” she explains.

Smiti has uniquely positioned herself to explore how agentic AI is revolutionising rewards, recognition, and holistic wellbeing in the workplace. “Wellbeing has to be looked at very holistically, both offline and digital, and that’s the direction we’re working towards,” Smiti shares in the podcast episode where she appeared alongside Sourabh Deorah, Founder and CEO of Advantage Club.

Both Smiti and Sourabh have spent the last decade building tech that reimagines how companies engage, recognise, and retain talent across diverse and distributed workforces. Smiti’s session at TechHR India 2025 directly explored one of our pressing questions: How do we scale human-first leadership in a world that demands speed, data, and distributed connection?

You can watch the full podcast conversation on the People Matters YouTube channel.

At Advantage Club, Smiti and Sourabh have taken this philosophy global, supporting clients in over 100 countries with AI-powered solutions that integrate rewards, engagement, and financial wellness. But their approach isn’t just technological; it’s human. From navigating diverse expectations across geographies to building trust in high-turnover sectors, they bring a rare blend of ‘product thinking and empathy-first design.’ 

As Sourabh puts it, “When you're running an organisation whose goal is to bring smiles to people, then you can't let that turn into frowns.” From rethinking policies to checking in with real users, the team is focused on crafting moments that matter. And their current perspective on the future of recognition and wellbeing is shaped by that same intent, which is timely, personalised, and profoundly human. 

EX that remembers You

Agentic AI does more than merely make chores easier, unlike regular automation. It augments human understanding. This implies systems that anticipate demands, learn from employee behaviour, and provide contextual, culturally aware nudges that go beyond generic incentives in the context of recognition and wellbeing. At Advantage Club, the vision behind agentic AI is clear: it’s not just about collecting data, it’s about enabling action. Building systems that do more than merely inform is the aim. When a need is expressed, the technology ought to be working on it, completing the task, closing the loop, and making the impact seem natural.

Smart Tech, Human Touch

Agentic AI is especially powerful in solving one of EX’s biggest contradictions, that is, assessing empathy. How do you acknowledge a data analyst in Bangalore and a retail associate in Jaipur in ways that feel equally meaningful? As Smiti puts it, “…your reward system should understand that this person is working hard and you have not appreciated them for a while; it should start nudging you… That’s the level where we are building right now.” By combining generational empathy and global-local culture fit, agentic systems can learn to celebrate silent contributors and anticipate burnout before either is lost in the noise.

When TechHR India’s EX takes the centre stage

Smiti’s perspective is especially relevant as HR leaders increasingly ask, How do we make well-being proactive instead of reactive? How do we reward effort in real time, not just at the annual review? How do we create workplace rituals that resonate across geographies and generations?

At People Matters TechHR India 2025, these questions weren't just up for discussion; they shaped the heartbeat of the conference. The keynote also aligned with TechHR 2025’s broader themes: inclusive leadership, user-led innovation, timely and emotional recognition, and purpose-driven scale. It’s a new kind of EX design, where machine learning doesn’t replace human intuition but rather magnifies it. As Smiti took the stage, she spotlighted a future where AI won’t be just a tool for making processes more efficient but also emotionally intelligent. Because soaring for impact shouldn’t come at the cost of empathy. This is where technology meets care. Where employee experience becomes truly personal. And where HR doesn’t just adapt to change, it leads it.