---
title: "UnitedHealthcare expands AI companion Avery to 21 million members"
id: "news-news-fierce-healthcare-99e9a598dc82c9d54f506422"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/news/news-news-fierce-healthcare-99e9a598dc82c9d54f506422"
content_type: "medical_news_article"
category: "Industry"
source_name: "Fierce Healthcare"
source_url: "https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/unitedhealthcare-expands-ai-companion-avery-21m-members"
published_at: "2026-10-26T21:57:17.353Z"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# UnitedHealthcare expands AI companion Avery to 21 million members
## Metadata & Source Attribution
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/news/news-news-fierce-healthcare-99e9a598dc82c9d54f506422
- **Category:** [Industry](https://medichelpline.com/news/industry.md)
- **Reporting Source:** Fierce Healthcare
- **Original Source URL:** [Read Original Article](https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/unitedhealthcare-expands-ai-companion-avery-21m-members)
- **Published At:** 2026-10-26T21:57:17.353Z
## Executive Summary & Key Highlights
- UnitedHealthcare has expanded its **Avery** generative AI companion to reach 21 million members, up from about 6.5 million in employer plans and 160,000 in Medicare Advantage earlier this year. - The insurer reports that **Avery** has resolved roughly 90% of member interactions; the remaining 10% are handed off to human advocates for support. - Avery draws on UnitedHealthcare’s internal data systems, which the company says provide a “ground truth” layer to improve answer accuracy and build user trust, according to Craig Kurtzweil. - The tool can help members understand **deductibles**, out-of-pocket maximums, provider networks, pricing and claims processing, and UnitedHealthcare is developing scheduling capabilities that would allow Avery to call providers and book appointments. - UnitedHealthcare links Avery to broader efforts such as variable-copay plan designs like **Surest**, aiming to give members more information and choice when selecting care and managing costs. - Company officials say the insurer intends to continue rolling Avery out across its membership with the goal of eventually making the tool available to all enrollees.
## In-Depth Reporting & Editorial Analysis
## UnitedHealthcare widens access to AI companion Avery to 21 million members UnitedHealthcare has broadened access to its generative AI companion, **Avery**, extending the tool’s availability to 21 million members. The move represents a faster-than-expected rollout from the product’s initial launch earlier this year, when Avery was available to about 6.5 million people in employer plans and roughly 160,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees. Craig Kurtzweil, UnitedHealthcare’s chief data and analytics officer, told Fierce Healthcare that early usage statistics and user feedback prompted the company to expand access. According to the insurer, **Avery** has successfully resolved about **90%** of member interactions to date, and the remaining **10%** can be transferred to a human advocate for further support. ## How Avery works and what it can do for members UnitedHealthcare describes Avery as a generative AI companion built on top of what the company calls “ground truth systems.” Those internal data systems form the foundation for the AI’s responses and, the company says, improve the accuracy of information provided to members. With that data layer, UnitedHealthcare reports Avery can explain plan features and administrative details such as **deductibles**, out-of-pocket maximums, **provider networks**, pricing and claims processing. Kurtzweil emphasized accuracy as a core focus for the tool, saying that making answers as correct as possible is “a big piece of gaining that trust with the consumers.” The insurer is also adding new functions. One planned capability would let Avery call providers and schedule appointments on a member’s behalf. Kurtzweil framed that as a way to remove friction points that can deter people from seeking needed care. ## How Avery fits into the insurer’s broader strategy Avery is part of a wider UnitedHealthcare effort to place more actionable information directly in members’ hands. The company pointed to plan designs such as **Surest**, which use variable copayments to give members greater flexibility to choose providers and services that match their preferences and budgets. UnitedHealthcare positions Avery as a navigation aid that can help members understand the financial and network implications of those choices. By pairing a data-driven AI assistant with plan features intended to encourage consumer decision-making, the insurer aims to simplify steps that can otherwise be confusing—such as comparing costs, confirming network status or tracking claims. ## Reported performance and human handoff process The company’s reported resolution rate—about 90%—indicates that most member queries are handled within the AI interface. For the minority of interactions where Avery cannot fully resolve the issue, UnitedHealthcare says the system can hand off the case to a human advocate who can provide additional support. Kurtzweil noted that user feedback and those early statistics were influential in the decision to expand. He linked improved accuracy, grounded in the insurer’s data systems, to higher member trust and uptake of the tool. ## Privacy, safety and other operational details The source article did not include specifics on Avery’s privacy safeguards, data governance, or how UnitedHealthcare monitors for errors, bias or misinformation in the model’s outputs. The piece also did not report on the underlying model architecture, third-party vendors or regulatory approvals related to the tool. ## What’s next: continued expansion UnitedHealthcare said it intends to keep building out access to Avery across its membership with the goal of eventually making the tool available to all enrollees. Kurtzweil said, “More and more people will be impacted by this, where we're going to start to reduce that friction and make life easier for those consumers.” The insurer is actively developing additional features, such as appointment scheduling, that it expects will further lower barriers to care. Beyond functionality, UnitedHealthcare appears focused on the data layer that it believes will keep responses accurate and maintain member trust as usage scales. ## Context in the market The source did not provide comparisons with other insurers’ AI tools, market share implications, or financial metrics tied to the Avery rollout. It also did not include independent evaluations of Avery’s performance or member satisfaction scores beyond the company-reported resolution rate and internal statements from Kurtzweil. ## Bottom line UnitedHealthcare has significantly expanded access to **Avery**, a generative AI companion designed to help members navigate plan details and administrative tasks. The company reports a high in-system resolution rate and is building new capabilities while planning to extend availability to more enrollees. Specifics on privacy, oversight and third-party involvement were not reported in the source.
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