Elevance Health Details AI Strategy Focused on Members, Providers, and Employees
At the AHIP 2026 conference in early June, an Elevance Health executive outlined the company's three key priorities for deploying artificial intelligence. Chief Digital Information Officer Ratnakar Lavu stated that the insurer's AI strategy is focused on simplifying experiences for members, providers, and its own employees.
The first priority is to simplify and personalize the member experience. Lavu described a tool named Sydney, a "ChatGPT-like experience" within the company's app. The tool is designed to answer member questions about benefit coverage, potential costs, and provider quality for specific procedures by integrating the member's plan details and provider data.
For providers, the second priority is to reduce administrative burden. Lavu highlighted using AI to accelerate prior authorization approvals. He specified that AI is not used for denials; any request the system cannot approve is routed to a human for review, ensuring a person is always in the loop for non-approvals.
Elevance's third priority is to equip its employees with better information. In the company's call centers, AI aggregates a caller's administrative and clinical history to provide associates with insights to resolve issues more quickly. The company also analyzes call summaries post-interaction to measure satisfaction and identify members who may need proactive outreach.