--- title: "UnitedHealth Accidentally Makes Claims-Judging AI Public for Anyone to Use" description: "Amid the fallout from UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's murder, the firm's prescription drug middleman made a huge AI oopsie. " date: "2024-12-16" modified: "2024-12-16" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/unitedhealth-claims-ai-chatbot" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "chatbots" - "insurance" - "the digest" - "unitedhealth care" --- # UnitedHealth Accidentally Makes Claims-Judging AI Public for Anyone to Use ![Amid the fallout from UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's murder, the firm's prescription drug middleman made a huge AI oopsie. ]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## AI Claims Amid the fallout from [UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's murder](), the firm's prescription drug middleman is under fire for a huge AI oopsie. As [*TechCrunch* reports](), a chatbot used by [UnitedHealth Group's Optum Rx]() pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) to help employees figure out insurance claims and disputes was accidentally made public — and easily accessible for anyone who had its IP address. Dubbed "SOP Chatbot," an apparent reference to the "standard operating procedure" queries it was built to answer, the AI also revealed logs in which the company's employees asked it questions like "How do I check policy renewal date?" Those logs also showed employees asking questions like "What should be the determination of the claim?" — making it sound a lot like the AI was being used to evaluate coverage. However, this chatbot does *not* appear to be the same [claims-denying algorithm]() previously reported to be used by UnitedHealthcare, Optum's sister firm. While that AI, nH Predict, was the [subject of a lawsuit]() alleging the company used it despite knowing it was highly inaccurate, Optum's SOP Chatbot does not appear to have been public knowledge before *TechCrunch* broke this story. ## Leaky Ship Researcher Mossab Hussein, the cofounder and chief security officer of a cybersecurity firm called spiderSilk, informed *TechCrunch* of the privacy breach. It's unclear how Hussein learned about SOP Chatbot. Shortly after *TechCrunch* reached out to Optum to ask about SOP Chatbot, it was locked down and is no longer accessible to the public. In an email to *TechCrunch*, an Optum spokesperson said the chatbot was merely a "demo tool developed as a potential proof of concept" and that it was "never put into production." As such, no real patient data was ever inserted into it, and the company claims none was used in its training. "The demo was intended to test how the tool responds to questions on a small sample set of SOP documents," that spokesperson told *TechCrunch*. "This tool does not and would never make any decisions, but only enable better access to existing SOPs." "In short," they continued, "this technology was never scaled nor used in any real way." Despite that disclaimer, it's still very telling that UnitedHealth's prescription management subsidiary was testing out that kind of AI at all — especially [considering what happened]() with its other claims-handling AI. **More on Optum:** [*Congress Introduces Bills to Break Up UnitedHealth Group*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()