Kinney Drugs scales back AI assistant after complaint wave

Kinney Drugs, a pharmacy chain based in Vermont, introduced Burt, an AI assistant named after the chain's founder, in May. Burt's initial purpose was to communicate with patients about prescriptions and refills via inbound phone calls. Within weeks, however, customers began reporting significant problems. According to VTDigger's reporting, complaints included incoherent calls, dosage errors, and missed prescription notifications—issues that struck at the core reliability pharmacy customers depend on.

The company initially defended Burt on privacy and security grounds. Kinney Drugs President John Marraffa noted that Burt is fully HIPAA compliant, not open-source, and does not generate or manipulate data. However, Marraffa acknowledged in a public statement that compliance with privacy standards does not equal a good user experience: "But one thing I want to point out is getting privacy and security right does not mean we got the experience right. We did not, and we own that." This admission prompted the decision to scale back.

Effective immediately, Kinney Drugs is returning all incoming patient calls to the classic touch-tone phone system. Burt will not be retired entirely; instead, it will handle only outbound communications—specifically prescription refill notifications sent via text message. Crucially, these messages will only go to customers who opt in, placing control back in the customer's hands and reducing the risk of forced interaction with a system that failed to meet expectations.