Insurance Companies Enhance Digital Assistants with AI Technology

Several insurance companies are reintroducing revamped digital assistants, as highlighted in Keynova Group's Q2 2026 Online Insurance Scorecard. Initially, in 2023, 92% of the 12 carriers analyzed offered digital assistants. This presence declined to about 67% by 2025, rising again to 83% in the current year.

Beth Robertson, Managing Director at Keynova Group, stated that insurers have cycled digital assistants or chatbots in and out of service. This adjustment aligns with evolving support strategies that balance live, assistant-based, and self-service options while refining digital assistant capabilities.

One-third of insurers employ a predictive model based on user location, suggesting likely help topics when a digital assistant is launched from a task screen. Although not AI-based, this method offers timely assistance pertinent to user navigation, Robertson noted.

Progressive leads in deploying technology for customer acquisition and retention, with Nationwide and USAA following. Currently, AI primarily enhances backend operations such as risk underwriting and claims processing. Robertson observed that, while limited AI applications are visible to customers, Farmers has integrated an AI summary feature into its website search tool. The anticipation is that more carriers will leverage AI to improve virtual assistant interactions and offer insightful product comparisons.

The report reveals that 60% of digital assistants transfer inquiries to support after two unsuccessful answer attempts. Moreover, two-thirds of carriers provide direct live chat access. The Scorecard evaluates customer experience and digital capabilities for carriers including Allstate, American Family, Erie, Farmers, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm, The Hartford, Travelers, and USAA. This year's 83% adoption reflects an increase from last year, though it remains below the 92% peak in 2023.

Insurance risk management experts from Cytora, Scor, and AXA XL emphasize the potential of AI to support junior underwriters and enhance data-driven underwriting processes. Analyses show that firms leveraging AI extensively also bolster human resource recruitment.

The deployment of AI has significantly reduced the production timeline for TV commercials from weeks to hours. Insurers benefit from frameworks designed to interpret results from these advertisements. Despite the increasing AI presence, agents and brokers encounter challenges integrating it into day-to-day operations. Over the last three years, the financial services sector has markedly shifted from physical to digital customer interactions.