Optum and Google expand collaboration to advance real-time, AI-enabled payer operations

April 28, 2026 | 2-minute read

April 28, 2026  — Rising administrative workload and operating costs continue to challenge health plans, driving high call volumes and manual work for routine inquiries such as eligibility, benefits and claim status. To help address those challenges, Optum and Google today announced an expanded collaboration to advance Optum Real, an AI-enabled platform designed to reduce administrative burden and call center demand for payers.

The collaboration focuses on enabling real-time, digital payer-provider interactions that help eliminate unnecessary phone calls and manual follow-up. By giving providers immediate access to administrative and claim-related information, Optum Real helps reduce inbound inquiries that drive call center volume and operational costs for health plans.

Optum and Google are developing AI-enabled capabilities that support faster, more transparent information exchange through digital workflows. The goal: modernize payer operations, improve accuracy and responsiveness, and lower the costs of servicing high volumes of routine administrative calls.

“Too much time and cost in payer operations is tied up in avoidable administrative work,” said Sandeep Dadlani, CEO of Optum Insight. “Through Optum Real and our collaboration with Google Cloud, we are helping payers remove some of those administrative challenges and operate more efficiently at scale.”

Optum Real reflects Optum’s broader commitment to helping payers address inefficiencies that drive avoidable cost and complexity in administrative operations. By shifting common inquiries, such as eligibility, benefit coverage, prior authorization and related referral requirements and claim status, from phone-based interactions to real-time digital access embedded within existing workflows, the platform helps health plans better manage call center demand, streamline workflows and improve the experience for members and providers.

“Health plans are under increasing pressure to manage costs while maintaining service levels,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “By combining Google Cloud’s AI models and scalable infrastructure with Optum’s health care expertise, we can enable real-time, digital interactions that help reduce administrative burden and improve operational efficiency.”

Optum and Google will continue collaborating as Optum Real evolves, with additional real-time capabilities planned. To learn more about Optum Real and Optum’s real-time vision for payer operations, visit optum.com.