Feature spotlights
Get started quickly
Use existing documentation, such as summary plan description documents, to configure the service and quickly start answering questions about health plan benefits eligibility.
IBM Cloud platform
Watson Assistant for Health Benefits is built on the power of the IBM Cloud. In IBM’s cloud, it’s all about YOUR data. The IBM Cloud combined with the Watson Data Platform helps you maintain ownership and protection of your data. We build the IBM Cloud for artificial intelligence services and cognitive technologies. Our cloud must protect your data, and it must enable our artificial intelligence.
Natural conversation
Watson Assistant understands the questions posed in natural language by end-users. It extracts the underlying information required to search for answers on the back-end, then responds with follow-up questions and answers.
Intelligent reasoning
Can incorporate enterprise data in back-end systems (e.g. benefits, accumulator, member and provider databases) in order to find answers to questions, and guides front-end interactions to ask the right sequence of context-specific questions in order to provide the most accurate answer most quickly.
Understands medical terms
Translates medical terms like CPT and ICD codes into user-friendly terms, and vice-versa, without having to hard code the translation. For instance, the system maps a question such as “I need knee replacement surgery” to a CPT code or family of CPT codes that will be used in the search for answers on the back-end.
Branded to your portal
Watson Assistant for Health Benefits uses open APIs so that you can hook it right into your existing member or CRM portal.

Meet health plan members where they are
What are the essential elements needed to drive digital transformation for healthcare payers? Learn how conversational AI in health can help improve the overall member experience. Watch the AHIP webinar replay (this link resides outside ibm.com) →
How customers use it
Member self service
Watson-based virtual agents are always available to interact with your members using natural language and a conversational interface. This enables people to get the personalized information they need — when and where they need it.

Agent assist
Your call center agents can provide accurate, fast, consistent responses that are generated from an integrated data set that includes claims, accumulation, provider directories, clinical data and additional key information.

Provider self-service
Providers calling into member services regarding their patient’s benefits and coverage will get the same consistently accurate responses and fast service the patient is getting.

Head of client experience - call center operations
The service can help you deflect calls to lower-cost, self-service channels, reducing agent training and call-handling time so you can optimize your call center talent and focus on delivering differentiated, such as concierge-level, service.
