UnitedHealth Group is tracking how often some employees use artificial intelligence tools as part of an effort to incorporate artificial intelligence technology across its operations, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company monitors whether some of its Optum Services employees run at least one query a day using programs such as open AI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s CoPilot, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal business matters.
UnitedHealth is investing in AI to “fundamentally transform the way we organize, operate and work as a company going forward,” a spokesperson said. The company has implemented more than 1,000 AI use cases and increased training on the technology for employees and external customers, a spokesperson said.
A company document on AI training reviewed by Bloomberg described an engagement dashboard to track usage, training progress and “identify gaps in adoption.” The company also said its AI applications have averted the need for more than 15 million calls, adjudicated hundreds of millions of claims, and contributed more than 150 million lines of code. The document also included positive feedback from people who took the training, called AI Dojo.
AI is central to UnitedHealth’s plan to restore confidence on Wall Street after profits collapsed last year. Healthcare conglomerates are touting AI’s potential to improve America’s fragmented medical system. Last year, the company began testing a system called Optum Real that aims to speed up the processing of medical claims.
Chief Financial Officer Wayne DeVate said at a recent conference that the technology is “evolving faster than people realize or understand.” The company is focused on “speed and agility,” he said. “We think there is potential here to lead the industry in a way that others cannot.”
UnitedHealth has invested $1.5 billion in AI this year and expects at least a 2-to-1 return on those investments, with positive returns within a year, DeBate said in April.
Raymond James analysts cited the potential for AI efforts to boost the company’s profits when they upgraded the stock to a buy rating in April.
UnitedHealth’s latest annual report includes new disclosures related to AI, with the company stating that “increasing use of AI creates legal, regulatory, and business risks.” It also cited the potential for “inaccurate, incomplete or biased output” to impact operational and financial results.
UnitedHealth has had big technology strategies that backfired before. When the company announced its $13 billion deal with Change Healthcare in 2021, it promised that the deal would “simplify core clinical, administrative and payment processes” and improve care while reducing costs.
In 2024, Change suffered a major cyber attack that paralyzed its ability to pay its medical bills. The hack tracked accounts that didn’t have basic cybersecurity precautions in place and ultimately exposed the data of 190 million Americans, more than half the country’s population.
