UnitedHealth Group is working to position itself as a frontrunner in the wider healthcare industry’s ongoing technological transformation, with AI at the heart of its strategy to innovate, improve operational efficiency, and enhance the experience of its customers.
As the Minnesota-based company navigates rising healthcare costs and continues its recovery from last year’s Change Healthcare cyberattack, AI is being deployed across its expansive operations to revitalize the business. The company is also leveraging the technology within new core product offerings that are sold directly to hospitals and other providers.
“We now see the alignment of our end-to-end technology and AI innovation efforts coming into formation,” Chair and CEO Stephen Hemsley told investors in October. “We are confident our plan will ignite top-line revenue and operating earnings in line with our long-term growth targets.”
UnitedHealth has already integrated over 1,000 AI use cases across its business. In 2024, AI chatbots handled over 65 million customer calls, and in the first quarter of 2025, there were 18 million AI-enabled searches from members looking for physicians. The company’s investments in the space includes employing more than 2,000 AI engineers.
“At our core, we’re a data company,” Craig Kurtzweil, chief data and analytics officer for UnitedHealthcare’s commercial business, told Becker’s. “There’s a lot of data, and many ways we can use technology. We’re focusing on the most impactful areas to start, especially with the consumer.”
UnitedHealthcare
This year, UnitedHealthcare launched several AI-powered tools online and within its mobile app that are aimed at simplifying care navigation for members, such as the Smart Choice, Members Like You, and Claims Assistant tools.
“We hear from employers regularly, survey consumers, and have conversations to study data and find friction points in our tools. The goal is to use technology to eliminate those friction points and make processes easier for members,” Mr. Kurtzweil said.
Smart Choice helps members find the right provider based on quality, cost, and personal preferences like gender and proximity to their home. Early impact measurements suggest that the digital tool is already saving members an average of $123 per provider visit. While it’s still in the early stages, UnitedHealth plans to expand customization options as it collects more feedback.
Members Like You uses demographic information and data from similar patients to help members predict potential care pathways and associated costs. The tool has recorded about 40,000 interactions so far.
Claims Assistant aims to streamline the claims process by reducing administrative errors like incorrect codes or misspelled names. For out-of-network claims, the AI tool is reported to have reduced processing times from around 15 minutes down to three, resulting in improved claim completion rates.
Optum
Optum has recently launched AI-enabled products like Optum Real, a multi-payer claims solution already being used by providers that includes instant coverage validation during the claims and reimbursement process.
The Crimson AI platform is a predictive analytics solution designed to improve operating room scheduling and performance in hospitals. One health system in New York said it used the product to identify patterns of waste and reduced operative supply spending by 16% after identifying materials that were frequently pulled but never used.
In the pharmacy space, Optum Rx, the company’s pharmacy benefit manager, is using AI to boost operational efficiency, such as reducing out-of-stock events by 85% year-over-year.
Internal use
Behind the scenes, UnitedHealth has also deployed several internal AI tools, echoing a broader industry shift among large insurers.
Alfred, a generative AI solution, has been rolled out to 300,000 employees to simplify performance management and role-based communications across the company. The tool helps reduce time spent on administrative tasks, such as goal setting and feedback. The company said it has saved an estimated 86,400 working hours so far, with the expectation of that number growing to nearly 300,000 hours annually.
As AI technology has developed, Mr. Kurtzweil noted that UnitedHealth has implemented an extensive governance framework to ensure the ethical and responsible use of its technologies. The company’s AI Review Board is composed of technology and privacy experts, medical ethicists, and clinicians who evaluate each developed model for safety, effectiveness, and bias.
“We’ve set up quality and review standards early on,” Mr. Kurtzweil said. “The main challenge is the approval processes needed to get AI projects off the ground, but we’re committed to doing the necessary work to ensure these technologies are safe and effective.”
