Anyone who's ever languished on hold or plunged into a labyrinth of ever-expanding touchtone message options while trying to get an answer to a simple question about coverage or eligibility will appreciate the new invention from Aetna. Her name is Ann.

The health plan recently unveiled an online assistant to help members who have questions about how to navigate Aetna’s secure member Web site. She's pretty, with curly hair and a mellifluous voice. And she's made entirely of ones and zeroes. Ann, Aetna’s personalized, virtual assistant, offers 24-hour support for members who are new to the Web site or need help logging in. Members get the same information from Ann they'd receive when calling customer service – but they don't have to leave the Aetna site. Ann is interactive and easily interprets questions, helping them with the registration process or with recovering forgotten user names or passwords.

"In the past, members who encountered an issue with the log-in and registration process had to pick up the phone or send an e-mail to get help," says Stephen Schneider, Aetna's Head of Member Enrollment and Communication Solutions. "But now with Ann, we can provide real-time assistance when and where the member needs it."

"Ann is an extension of the industry-leading service we provide to Aetna members," said Frank Cobbin, Aetna senior vice president of service operations. "Many people turn to the Web for service. There are about 2,500 chat sessions between our members and Ann every day. This is evidence that Ann is engaging and makes it easy for our members to get help while they’re online without taking an extra step to call us."

When members visit the Aetna Navigator secure site, they can click on Ann to open a chat window and enter a question. Ann is programmed to understand the intent of the question by recognizing the natural language members use to ask it. She then provides an immediate written and spoken response in a friendly voice to create a personal and interactive experience.

Moreover, says Schneider, "Ann is always learning. As we review the quality of the interactions members have with Ann, we can continually expand her vocabulary recognition and responses.”

Developed by Spokane, Wash.-based Next IT, the technology behind Ann emulates the look and voice of a human. The technology "transforms self-service information access from frustrating and one-sided to satisfying and dynamic by intelligently accommodating individual communication styles and preferences, engaging users through natural language dialog and precise knowledge to successfully find answers and resolve issues across every touch point."

Data has shown she's having an immediate impact. More than half of people registering on the site for the first time engage with Ann, and calls to Aetna’s customer service technical help desk have been declining since Ann was introduced. Between May and June, those calls decreased 29 percent.

"We have received very positive feedback from members," says Schneider. "We have a feedback mechanism built directly into Ann and review that feedback regularly. It has been an extremely positive experience both for members and Aetna."

"We are committed to delivering information and resources that help our members get the information they need to make the right healthcare decisions, and maximize their benefits," said Cobbin. "Ann is another way we are investing in technology to improve the experience our members have with us on the Web. We will continue to expand her functionality and capabilities to help members."