CVS Health is deploying AI assistants to help patients navigate insurance and healthcare more easily, aiming to reduce administrative burdens and shift from reactive to proactive care.

What happened: CVS launched a conversational AI assistant on Aetna's website and mobile app in the fall, designed to answer member questions, anticipate needs, and guide patients through healthcare decisions. The company also plans to launch a Health100 platform with Google Cloud this year, featuring a persistent personal AI assistant that integrates insurance, pharmacy, and clinical data to manage patient needs in real time.

Why it matters: Healthcare's biggest pain points—prior authorization delays, administrative overhead, and customer service bottlenecks—could ease as real-time data sharing between payers, providers, and patients improves over the next three to five years. CVS's pharmacy business previously handled more than 500 million calls annually; today roughly 75% of those interactions are fully resolved through conversational AI, freeing staff to handle complex issues.

What to watch: The Health100 platform launches this year and aims to detect early warning signs such as missed medication refills or worsening health indicators, then intervene proactively. The system would eventually integrate claims data, pharmacy records, electronic health records, and potentially wearable devices, if patients consent, to help reduce out-of-pocket costs and improve health outcomes.