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WhileAlanis better known as a wellness insurance company , the French startup has always taste to offer more than insurance reportage . It now wants to build a super app for all things touch to health care and announced three newfangled product update on Tuesday morning , include an AI chatbot that ’s vetted by doctors .
Alan has long offered its customers a New World chat interface that lets them require a question to a doctor and get an answer within 15 minutes or so . The next logical pace these days would be to leverage artificial intelligence for aesculapian conversations , so Alan is contribute a virtual assistant called Mo to the chat feature .
“ On the one hand , we more and more require to be in charge of our own wellness . On the other , our healthcare system is mostly reactive and is therefore under constant strain , ” Alan ’s AI lead Antoine Lizée say at a press group discussion on Tuesday .
But given that AI chatbots incline to hallucinate , healthcare professional may not want to rely on inaccurate information or risk of infection misdiagnosing a patient role . This issue has come upin the newslately with AI - based aesculapian transcriptions — eight out of ten audio transcriptions expose some level of hallucinated entropy , according to a study by a University of Michigan researcher .
Alan said it has put in seat guardrails to prevent this . First , using the AI chatbot is entirely optional . “ Mo reword my head , enclose itself and asks if I want to start with Mo or if I want to spill the beans to a MD , ” Lizée explained .
Second , Mo ’s answers are checked by a doc within 15 minute . They can either confirm the medical advice or correct what has been order in the conversation . patient will then receive a message explicate how the doctor feels about the AI ’s answers .
Alan said it has facilitated 900 conversations between its users and Mo over the retiring few week . But pass that 680,000 people are currently covered by Alan ’s health insurance products , Mo is chop-chop go to become a wide used health care - relate AI chatbot . It will be interesting to see how people react to this new feature and how Alan fine-tune the bot over time .
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Mo is mostly a chatbot for now , but the company plan to give it the ability to commend more details and add together personalization features to make it more proactive . “ This is just the start . Our vision for Mo goes beyond that . Our imaginativeness is to make it a health companion that understands your context and your wellness history , ” Lizée said .
An online shop and some gamification features
In addition to the AI features , Alan uncover a wandering shop from which users can buy dietary postscript , sport accessories , babe - relate goods , and other health - adjacent products .
“ It ’s a curated selection of health and health product to improve your day-to-day spirit , ” Alan product manager Mélanie Alsberghe said . “ We favor French brands that share our high standards and note value . And we have negotiated discriminatory rates for our member . ”
This feel like the first tone of a openhanded play . on-line pharmacy are n’t very common in France due to regulative and logistics hurdles , so Alan could be well - positioned to offer over - the - counter drugs and more in the near future .
Finally , the companionship is launching Alan Walk , a gamified stride counter . If you opt in to Alan Walk , the app will apply your phone or smartwatch ’s built - in pedometer to record how many steps you ’ve walked .
Alan state Walk has been designed to campaign sedentary lifestyles , and when you reach certain step goals , you ’ll unlock Berry ( a virtual currency ) .
“ you may exchange your berries to donate to charities , or get price reduction on the Alan Shop , or personalize your embodiment , ” Alan product manager Antoine Moulet order . There ’s even a leaderboard that show your social rank alongside all your colleagues .
“ For us , this is all about ameliorate this integrate experience between health insurance policy , bar , and access to medical care , ” Alan co - founder and CEO Jean - Charles Samuelian - Werve said .
Alan recently raised a $ 193 million backing round at an impressive$4.5 billion rating . After France , Belgium , and Spain , the ship’s company last month announced plans to expand toCanada , where it will be the first new wellness insurance company in almost 70 years .
