Amazon expands Health AI access to website and app

Amazon announced on Tuesday that it is expanding access to its healthcare artificial intelligence assistant, Health AI, to its main website and mobile app. Previously, the assistant was only available on the app for One Medical, a primary care provider that Amazon acquired for $3.9 billion. Under the expansion, users do not need to be Prime subscribers or One Medical members to use the assistant. The tool allows users to ask general health questions, manage appointments, and interpret medical records. For Prime members in the U.S., the service includes up to five free direct-message care consultations with a One Medical provider for over 30 common conditions, such as cold and flu. Non-Prime members can access these providers through a pay-per-visit option. Users can sign up for the assistant on the Amazon Health page and will receive an email once they are granted access, after which they must sign in to a personal Amazon Health profile. Once logged in, users can start a conversation by typing health questions, such as asking the assistant to explain recent cholesterol results or describing symptoms like congestion and a sore throat.

The expansion comes amid ongoing discussions regarding data privacy in AI-driven healthcare. Amazon stated that all interactions with Health AI occur within an environment compliant with HIPAA—the US healthcare privacy standard—and that conversations are protected by “encryption and strict access controls,” according to the company. To address privacy concerns, Amazon stated that it trains its models on abstracted patterns rather than directly identifying information. However, researchers warn that there are risks associated with sharing your health information with AI, particularly amid broader industry concerns that companies are pulling user conversations for training. With a user’s permission, Health AI can access medical history through the Health Information Exchange, a secure nationwide system for sharing patient medical data, to interpret lab results and diagnoses.

Amazon’s broader rollout of Health AI intensifies the competition among technology firms attempting to capture the digital health market. The move directly pits Amazon against other AI developers that have recently launched healthcare-focused products. In January, OpenAI released ChatGPT Health, a chatbot tailored to answer medical queries, which was followed a week later by Anthropic’s launch of its own healthcare-focused product, Claude for Healthcare.

Why it matters

Amazon’s move to open its healthcare AI to the general public signals a broader push to integrate AI into consumer health services, intensifying the race against competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic to capture the digital health market.