A Google Cloud office in Seattle. Credit: Joseph Hendrickson/Adobe Stock
Google's Google Cloud business is pointing to Covered California, a big health insurance distributor, as an example of a customer that's getting real value from use of artificial intelligence technology.
Google Cloud today announced that it and Covered California are expanding an AI tech relationship that began in 2024.
Google Cloud is not saying exactly how the relationship will expand, but it noted that Covered California has used Google AI tech to speed up and improve efforts to verify documents consumers use when applying for coverage and health insurance premium subsidies.
A Google Cloud-based system developed by Deloitte increased the verification completion rate for eligibility documents to 84%, from less than 20% when earlier tools were in use, according to Google Cloud.
Covered California is also using an AI-powered system, Google Security Operations, to protect its operations against cyberattacks.
Google Cloud included an announcement about its Covered California relationship in a flurry of announcements issued in connection with its three-day Google Cloud Next '26 conference, which started today in Las Vegas.
Google Cloud also announced new and expanded relationships with organizations such as Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, McKinsey and Salesforce.
Google Cloud said it will spend $750 million to help consulting firms, system integrators, software firms and other types of business partners expand their customers' use of "agentic AI."
An agentic AI system is a sophisticated AI system that can perform some activities on its own, with little or no live-human supervision, and may appear to many live-human observers to communicate as if it were a live human.
What it means: Google, Amazon, Microsoft and other web technology companies have been trying for years to become major players in the health care and health insurance worlds.
The agentic AI rush could give them a new chance to achieve that goal.
For employers and benefits advisors, the immediate impact could be opportunities to try new, AI-based benefits support tools.
Covered California: Covered California is a nonprofit organization that provides enrollment and administration services for California individuals, families and employers that use Affordable Care Act public exchange plans.
The exchange serves 1.8 million coverage users, including 80,148 people covered by 9,632 employer plans, according to a recent exchange board update.
The agentic AI backdrop: Google Cloud is promoting its Google Gemini agentic AI system and other AI systems.
The Covered California announcement does not say whether Covered California is currently using agentic AI or plans to do so.
Google Cloud said in March that CVS Health, Aetna's parent, will be using Google agentic AI technology and other Google tech services to support its operations.
Amazon is promoting the Amazon Connect Health agentic AI system, and Microsoft is promoting the Copilot Health medical AI assistant system.
UnitedHealth is marketing the Avery agentic AI system.
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