298: Battle of the bots? Separating AI hype from value in revenue cycle

Across the industry, leaders are talking about a “battle of the bots”—with payers and providers racing to deploy AI across the revenue cycle. But that narrative may be more hype than reality. In this episode, Rae Woods is joined by Advisory Board experts Isis Monteiro and Elysia Culver to separate fact from fiction. They break down where AI is actually delivering value today—and why it’s showing up as efficiency gains and cost avoidance, not revenue growth. And they make the case for a different approach: stop chasing AI for its own sake, and start focusing on margin protection, operational discipline, and the problems that actually need solving. We’re here to help: Report | Revenue cycle claims denial benchmarks Report | Addressing plan-provider friction: 3 insights from Optum’s Payer-Provider Abrasion survey Case Study | 3 steps to prevent prior authorization denials Learn | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases Playlist | Radio Advisory Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook playlist Playlist | Radio Advisory Tech and AI playlist Learn about Advisory Board's 2026 summits A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.