# 401(k) providers: what AI models recommend, October 2026

Gane Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "401(k) provider" and as "workplace retirement plan provider", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Added to the October 2026 Edition on October 4, 2026. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/rewards/401k-providers/2026-10

This is the permanent record of the October 2026 Edition, published October 1, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/rewards/401k-providers/index.md

**Standing:** Human Interest (tied with Guideline) leads with 20% of first choices; verdict contested. 55 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Human Interest](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/human-interest/index.md) | 20% | 7% | 42 |
| 2 | [Guideline](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/guideline/index.md) | 20% | 9% | 32 |
| 3 | [ADP Retirement Services](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/adp-retirement-services/index.md) | 16% | 12% | 41 |
| 4 | [Fidelity Investments](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/fidelity-investments/index.md) | 13% | 4% | 23 |
| 5 | [Fidelity Advantage 401](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/fidelity-advantage-401/index.md) | 9% | 0% | 36 |
| 6 | [Empower Retirement](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/empower-retirement/index.md) | 7% | 0% | 38 |
| 7 | [Vanguard Workplace Solutions](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/vanguard-workplace-solutions/index.md) | 5% | 4% | 46 |
| 9 | [Principal](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/principal/index.md) | 2% | 8% | 13 |
| 13 | [Charles Schwab](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/charles-schwab/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 18 |
| 14 | [Betterment at Work](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/betterment-at-work/index.md) | 0% | 10% | 10 |
| 15 | [T. Rowe Price](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/t-rowe-price/index.md) | 0% | 20% | 10 |
| 17 | [Paychex Retirement Services](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/paychex-retirement-services/index.md) | 0% | 27% | 11 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 76 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Human Interest; alternatives Fidelity Investments, Principal, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- GPT-5.4 mini: ADP Retirement Services; alternatives Empower Retirement, Gusto 401(k) powered by Guideline, ShareBuilder 401k
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Human Interest; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Fidelity Investments, Principal Financial Group
- Perplexity Sonar: ADP Retirement Services, Human Interest; alternatives Empower Retirement, Fidelity Advantage 401, John Hancock, Securian Financial
- Grok 4.20: Guideline, Human Interest; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Advantage 401, Principal
- Mistral Small: Fidelity Advantage 401; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Fidelity Investments, Guideline, Human Interest; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Fidelity Investments, Guideline, Lighthouse Group; alternatives Charles Schwab, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- Kimi K2: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Human Interest; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Fidelity Investments, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- MiniMax M2.5: Human Interest; alternatives Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price
- GPT-6 Luna: ADP 401(k) Premier; alternatives Empower Retirement, Fidelity Workplace Investing, Principal
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan, Guideline, Human Interest

## Sources the answers cite

74 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- spotsaas.com: 37 answers, 49 citations
- adp.com: 36 answers, 54 citations
- uschamber.com: 35 answers, 35 citations
- betterment.com: 29 answers, 43 citations
- fidelity.com: 28 answers, 29 citations
- forbes.com: 27 answers, 32 citations
- fitsmallbusiness.com: 24 answers, 24 citations
- humaninterest.com: 22 answers, 44 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://uschamber.com/co/run/human-resources/employee-retirement-providers (35 answers)
- https://adp.com/what-we-offer/benefits/retirement/401k.aspx (33 answers)
- https://betterment.com/top-401ks-for-small-businesses-in-2026 (24 answers)
- https://fitsmallbusiness.com/best-401k-companies (24 answers)
- https://fidelity.com/retirement-ira/small-business/compare-retirement-plans (23 answers)
- https://forbes.com/advisor/retirement/best-401k-plans (22 answers)
- https://goldenwealthcapital.com/blog/the-top-401k-providers-proven-list-from-a-401-k-expert (18 answers)
- https://myshortlister.com/401-k-plan/vendor-list (18 answers)
- https://spotsaas.com/blog/10-best-401k-providers-2026 (17 answers)
- https://basiccapital.com/learn/best-401k-providers-for-mid-market-companies-fees-flexibility-support (15 answers)

## Warned against

- MassMutual: 5 of 6 labels negative. "frequently mentioned as among the worst offenders due to their high administrative costs, expensive fund options, and sometimes opaque fee structures" (Mistral Small, negative prompt)
- John Hancock: 4 of 9 labels negative. "Multiple financial advisors specifically recommend avoiding John Hancock for 401(k) plans due to service and fee issues." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)
- Ascensus: 3 of 5 labels negative. "Ascensus, which handled the Vanguard transfer of 401(k)s so badly that a class action lawsuit may be in the works." (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt)
- Guideline: 3 of 32 labels negative. "BBB customer reviews include stark warnings, e.g.: "Avoid at all costs." "You will never be able to get your money out."" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, October 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/hr.