UnitedHealthcare: 217/288 (75.3%; 95% interval 70.1–80.0%). Kaiser Permanente: 179/288 (62.2%; 95% interval 56.4–67.6%).
HEALTH
Health Insurance & Medicare AI Visibility Index 2026
Health Insurance Index 2.0: UnitedHealthcare Leads
Published June 28, 2026 · Updated November 9, 2026
288
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
75.3%
of answers named UnitedHealthcare, the most-named (217 of 288)
28
tracked insurers named at least once (of 29)
100%
of Google searches showed an AI Overview (53 of 53)
Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published August 15, 2026. It uses measured counts, so the two versions are not comparable. Version 2 asks 24 questions three times each on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity (288 answers) and adds Google AI Overviews. Every rate comes with its count and a 95% interval.
What the data shows
01
UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare leads this measured set. UnitedHealthcare: 217/288 (75.3%; 95% interval 70.1–80.0%). Kaiser Permanente: 179/288 (62.2%; 95% interval 56.4–67.6%).
02
94/288 (32.6%)
Kaiser Permanente was the first insurer named in 94 of 288 answers, more than any other tracked insurer. Its average first position was 2.6. UnitedHealthcare was named first in 66 of 288.
03
37/72 (51.4%)
Gemini named Elevance Health in 37 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 20 to 28 of 72.
04
22/288 (7.6%)
UnitedHealthcare's own domains were cited in 22 of 288 grounded answers, more than any other tracked insurer. Humana followed at 19 of 288. 11 of 29 tracked insurers had 0 of 288.
05
53/53 (100%)
Google AI Overviews appeared on 53 of 53 searches (CI 93.2–100%).
06
34/53 (64.2%)
UnitedHealthcare was the insurer named most often in AI Overviews, at 34 of 53, followed by Aetna at 33 of 53 (62.3%). In the four-engine set, UnitedHealthcare was named in 217 of 288 answers (75.3%).
07
111/288 (38.5%)
nerdwallet.com was cited in 111 of 288 grounded four-engine answers, with 167 of 2,354 citations (7.1%). forbes.com came second with 140 citations in 99 answers (34.4%).
Appearance rate across 288 four-engine answers. The bar is the 95% confidence interval; overlapping bars cannot be told apart at this sample size.
Which brands AI engines name
UnitedHealthcare
75.3%
Kaiser Permanente
62.2%
Blue Cross Blue Shield
58.3%
Humana
49.7%
Aetna
49.3%
Elevance Health
38.9%
Cigna
36.1%
Centene
32.3%
Molina Healthcare
20.8%
Oscar Health
16.7%
Devoted Health
13.5%
Mutual of Omaha
11.1%
Wellcare
10.8%
Highmark
8.7%
SCAN Health Plan
8.7%
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UnitedHealthcare | 217/288 | 75.3% | 70.1–80.0% |
| 2 | Kaiser Permanente | 179/288 | 62.2% | 56.4–67.6% |
| 3 | Blue Cross Blue Shield | 168/288 | 58.3% | 52.6–63.9% |
| 4 | Humana | 143/288 | 49.7% | 43.9–55.4% |
| 5 | Aetna | 142/288 | 49.3% | 43.6–55.1% |
| 6 | Elevance Health | 112/288 | 38.9% | 33.4–44.6% |
| 7 | Cigna | 104/288 | 36.1% | 30.8–41.8% |
| 8 | Centene | 93/288 | 32.3% | 27.2–37.9% |
| 9 | Molina Healthcare | 60/288 | 20.8% | 16.5–25.9% |
| 10 | Oscar Health | 48/288 | 16.7% | 12.8–21.4% |
| 11 | Devoted Health | 39/288 | 13.5% | 10.1–18.0% |
| 12 | Mutual of Omaha | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8.0–15.3% |
| 13 | Wellcare | 31/288 | 10.8% | 7.7–14.9% |
| 14 | Highmark | 25/288 | 8.7% | 5.9–12.5% |
| 15 | SCAN Health Plan | 25/288 | 8.7% | 5.9–12.5% |
The full list
Own-domain citation is the share of 288 grounded answers that cited the tracked name's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,354 citations.
| # | Brand | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UnitedHealthcare | 217/288 | 75.3% | 70.1–80% | 2.9 | 7.6% (22/288) | 1.1% |
| 2 | Kaiser Permanente | 179/288 | 62.2% | 56.4–67.6% | 2.6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 3 | Blue Cross Blue Shield | 168/288 | 58.3% | 52.6–63.9% | 3.4 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 4 | Humana | 143/288 | 49.7% | 43.9–55.4% | 3.5 | 6.6% (19/288) | 0.8% |
| 5 | Aetna | 142/288 | 49.3% | 43.6–55.1% | 4.6 | 1% (3/288) | 0.1% |
| 6 | Elevance Health | 112/288 | 38.9% | 33.4–44.6% | 3.9 | 1.7% (5/288) | 0.2% |
| 7 | Cigna | 104/288 | 36.1% | 30.8–41.8% | 4.7 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 8 | Centene | 93/288 | 32.3% | 27.2–37.9% | 3.9 | 1.7% (5/288) | 0.3% |
| 9 | Molina Healthcare | 60/288 | 20.8% | 16.5–25.9% | 5.2 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 10 | Oscar Health | 48/288 | 16.7% | 12.8–21.4% | 4.6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 11 | Devoted Health | 39/288 | 13.5% | 10.1–18% | 3.8 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 12 | Mutual of Omaha | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8–15.3% | 2.8 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 13 | Wellcare | 31/288 | 10.8% | 7.7–14.9% | 4.6 | 1% (3/288) | 0.1% |
| 14 | Highmark | 25/288 | 8.7% | 5.9–12.5% | 4.2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 15 | SCAN Health Plan | 25/288 | 8.7% | 5.9–12.5% | 3.7 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 16 | Florida Blue | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 4.2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 17 | CareSource | 18/288 | 6.3% | 4–9.7% | 5.2 | 1% (3/288) | 0.1% |
| 18 | eHealth | 18/288 | 6.3% | 4–9.7% | 1.4 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 19 | HCSC | 17/288 | 5.9% | 3.7–9.2% | 5.3 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 20 | Alignment Health | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8% | 4.1 | 1% (3/288) | 0.1% |
| 21 | SelectQuote | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8% | 2.6 | 1.4% (4/288) | 0.2% |
| 22 | UPMC Health Plan | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8% | 3.6 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 23 | Clover Health | 13/288 | 4.5% | 2.7–7.6% | 3.2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 24 | GoHealth | 11/288 | 3.8% | 2.1–6.7% | 3.4 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 25 | Chapter | 7/288 | 2.4% | 1.2–4.9% | 1.7 | 3.5% (10/288) | 0.4% |
| 26 | Wellpoint | 5/288 | 1.7% | 0.7–4% | 5 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 27 | Medica | 3/288 | 1% | 0.4–3% | 4 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 28 | Independence Blue Cross | 1/288 | 0.3% | 0.1–1.9% | 9 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 29 | Premera Blue Cross | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UnitedHealthcare | 75.3% | 217/288 answers · 95% CI 70.1–80% | first-mention position: 2.9; owned-domain citation (22/288): 7.6%; citation share: 1.1% |
| 2 | Kaiser Permanente | 62.2% | 179/288 answers · 95% CI 56.4–67.6% | first-mention position: 2.6; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0% |
| 3 | Blue Cross Blue Shield | 58.3% | 168/288 answers · 95% CI 52.6–63.9% | first-mention position: 3.4; owned-domain citation (2/288): 0.7%; citation share: 0.1% |
| 4 | Humana | 49.7% | 143/288 answers · 95% CI 43.9–55.4% | first-mention position: 3.5; owned-domain citation (19/288): 6.6%; citation share: 0.8% |
| 5 | Aetna | 49.3% | 142/288 answers · 95% CI 43.6–55.1% | first-mention position: 4.6; owned-domain citation (3/288): 1%; citation share: 0.1% |
| 6 | Elevance Health | 38.9% | 112/288 answers · 95% CI 33.4–44.6% | first-mention position: 3.9; owned-domain citation (5/288): 1.7%; citation share: 0.2% |
| 7 | Cigna | 36.1% | 104/288 answers · 95% CI 30.8–41.8% | first-mention position: 4.7; owned-domain citation (2/288): 0.7%; citation share: 0.1% |
| 8 | Centene | 32.3% | 93/288 answers · 95% CI 27.2–37.9% | first-mention position: 3.9; owned-domain citation (5/288): 1.7%; citation share: 0.3% |
Gemini named Elevance Health in 37 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 20 to 28 of 72.
ChatGPT
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Same questions, different answers
UnitedHealthcare
75.0%
Kaiser Permanente
65.3%
Humana
51.4%
Blue Cross Blue Shield
50.0%
Aetna
40.3%
Elevance Health
37.5%
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
UnitedHealthcare
73.6%
Blue Cross Blue Shield
65.3%
Aetna
59.7%
Kaiser Permanente
54.2%
Humana
51.4%
Cigna
45.8%
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
UnitedHealthcare
75.0%
Aetna
68.1%
Blue Cross Blue Shield
65.3%
Kaiser Permanente
61.1%
Elevance Health
51.4%
Humana
47.2%
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
UnitedHealthcare
77.8%
Kaiser Permanente
68.1%
Blue Cross Blue Shield
52.8%
Humana
48.6%
Centene
31.9%
Aetna
29.2%
Google AI Overviews were captured through 53 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 53 = 341 answers.
The fifth engine
100%
Trigger rate: 53 of 53 searches
Google AI Overviews appeared on 53 of 53 searches (100%, CI 93.2–100%). The other 0 searches showed no overview. Within the 53 overviews, UnitedHealthcare was named in 34 (64.2%), Aetna was named in 33 (62.3%), Humana was named in 30 (56.6%), Blue Cross Blue Shield was named in 25 (47.2%). nerdwallet.com was the most-cited source, with 11 citations and an appearance in 10 of 53 overviews.
| Five-engine rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UnitedHealthcare | 73.6% | 1 |
| 2 | Kaiser Permanente | 58.9% | 2 |
| 3 | Blue Cross Blue Shield | 56.6% | 3 |
| 4 | Aetna | 51.3% | 5 |
| 5 | Humana | 50.7% | 4 |
| 6 | Elevance Health | 38.4% | 6 |
| 7 | Cigna | 34.0% | 7 |
| 8 | Centene | 30.5% | 8 |
| 9 | Molina Healthcare | 20.5% | 9 |
| 10 | Oscar Health | 16.4% | 10 |
Who each question surfaces first
Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.
| Question | Leader | Next | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q01 · 12 answers | UnitedHealthcare 100.0% | Humana 100.0%; Aetna 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 0 of 0 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | Kaiser Permanente 91.7% | UnitedHealthcare 91.7%; Humana 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | UnitedHealthcare 100.0% | Humana 100.0%; Kaiser Permanente 8.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q04 · 12 answers | UnitedHealthcare 91.7% | Humana 91.7%; Aetna 83.3% | AI Overview shown on 0 of 0 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | Mutual of Omaha 100.0% | UnitedHealthcare 100.0%; Cigna 83.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q06 · 12 answers | Kaiser Permanente 100.0% | Blue Cross Blue Shield 100.0%; UnitedHealthcare 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
The four engines produced 2,354 citations in total. nerdwallet.com was cited most often, with 167 citations (7.1%) across 111 answers. Next came forbes.com (140), beckerspayer.com (136), kff.org (83), moneygeek.com (83), medicare.gov (59).
Four AI engines · share of 288 grounded answers
Most-cited domains
nerdwallet.com
38.5%
forbes.com
34.4%
beckerspayer.com
31.3%
moneygeek.com
24.3%
kff.org
20.5%
valuepenguin.com
15.3%
investopedia.com
13.9%
healthcareinsider.com
11.8%
cms.gov
11.5%
medicare.gov
11.1%
Google AI Overviews · share of 53 overviews
nerdwallet.com
18.9%
jamanetwork.com
15.1%
youtube.com
15.1%
kff.org
13.2%
facebook.com
13.2%
ehealthinsurance.com
11.3%
beckerspayer.com
9.4%
boomerbenefits.com
9.4%
forbes.com
9.4%
medigap.com
9.4%
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,354 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 211 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unclassified | 973 (41.3%) | 95 (45%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 486 (20.6%) | 20 (9.5%) |
| Official / government | 206 (8.8%) | 16 (7.6%) |
| General news / business press | 183 (7.8%) | 5 (2.4%) |
| Company / brand sites | 157 (6.7%) | 21 (10%) |
| Institutions / trade bodies | 105 (4.5%) | 13 (6.2%) |
| Reference | 86 (3.7%) | 4 (1.9%) |
| Research / data providers | 54 (2.3%) | 13 (6.2%) |
| Community / social | 33 (1.4%) | 21 (10%) |
| Health publishers | 32 (1.4%) | 3 (1.4%) |
| Directories / rankings | 20 (0.8%) | 0 (0%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 19 (0.8%) | 0 (0%) |
How can brands improve their AI visibility?
These steps follow from the measured results above. They describe what the engines cited in this study and are not a guarantee of results.
| Step | What this study measured |
|---|---|
| Put your facts on your own domain. | UnitedHealthcare's own domains were cited in 7.6% of grounded answers, Humana's in 6.6% and Elevance Health's in 1.7%. |
| Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite. | The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were nerdwallet.com (in 38.5% of grounded answers), forbes.com (34.4%), beckerspayer.com (31.3%), moneygeek.com (24.3%) and kff.org (20.5%). Review and comparison publishers supplied 20.6% of citations and official and government 8.8%. |
| Check each engine separately. | Gemini named Aetna in 68.1% of answers against 29.2% on Perplexity. Gemini named Elevance Health in 51.4% of answers against 27.8% on Perplexity. |
| Watch names outside the tracked list. | CVS Health Corporation (20 answers), HealthSpring (17 answers), J.D. Power (10 answers), Fallon Community Health Plan (10 answers) were named often but were not tracked. |
| Re-run the same questions every month. | Compare counts and intervals, not ranks. The 24 questions are in the appendix. |
What AI answers
Which names lead these AI answers?
UnitedHealthcare leads this measured set. UnitedHealthcare: 217/288 (75.3%; 95% interval 70.1–80.0%). Kaiser Permanente: 179/288 (62.2%; 95% interval 56.4–67.6%).
Which insurer is named first most often?
Kaiser Permanente was the first insurer named in 94 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 2.6.
How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?
An overview appeared on 53 of 53 searches (100%, CI 93.2–100%). Within those 53 overviews, UnitedHealthcare was named most often, in 34 (64.2%).
Which sources do the engines cite?
Across 2,354 four-engine citations, nerdwallet.com was cited most (167 citations, in 111 of 288 grounded answers), followed by forbes.com (140 citations).
Do the four engines agree?
Only in part. Gemini named Elevance Health in 37 of 72 answers, against 20 to 28 of 72 on the other engines. Gemini named Aetna in 49 of 72 answers, against 21 to 43 of 72 on the other engines.
How this study was measured
24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 53 Google searches · 53 AI Overviews
24 questions asked three times on each of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, measured November 3, 2026. United States, English; Google retrieval uses desktop results. Models: gpt-5-mini, claude-sonnet-5-5, gemini-3.6-flash only, sonar-pro. Google AI Overviews come from DataForSEO, not inferred chat answers. Appearance counts returned text, including ungrounded answers; citation rates use grounded answers. Longer overlapping names suppress shorter ones; First mention is the earliest eligible name order. Own-domain rates include declared domains and subdomains; shared parent scopes may count for multiple names and cannot be summed as unique citations.
| Engine | Model IDs called | Asked | Returned | Grounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-mini | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-5-5 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.6-flash | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Perplexity | sonar-pro | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Google AI Overviews | DataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced) | 53 | 53 shown | 53 |
Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.
Definitions
- Appearance rate: answers naming the tracked name ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
- First mention: average order in which the tracked name first appears (1 = first).
- Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the tracked name's domains ÷ grounded answers.
- Citation share: citations to the tracked name's domains ÷ all citations.
Limits
- Only 29 tracked insurers are ranked; results are not an exhaustive market ranking.
- Only the tracked insurers were scored. Untracked names that appeared often were not scored, including CVS Health Corporation (20 answers), HealthSpring (17 answers), J.D. Power (10 answers), Fallon Community Health Plan (10 answers).
- 341 of 360 planned results were returned. 19 AI Overview lookups were excluded after at most three total attempts.
- 53 successful Google searches: 53 overviews shown; 0 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
- All returned chat answers had search sources.
- Question 3 names UnitedHealthcare and Humana, so both counts include up to 12 answers to that question.
- Removing 1 Core question naming tracked subjects leaves 276 eligible answers. The top two are UnitedHealthcare (205/276) and Kaiser Permanente (178/276); their order does not change.
- Names with no tracked own site are shown with a dash. Source types use Company / brand sites only for verified official organisations; other unresolved sites are Other / unclassified.
- Wilson 95% intervals are descriptive; overlapping leading intervals do not establish a sole leader. Measurements do not endorse medical, legal, financial or product claims.
- Insurers from the earlier edition plus Medigap carriers and brokers the questions cover. Medicare.gov, CMS, KFF and other publishers are cited sources only, outside the ranking. Status: in the 2027 Medicare Advantage star ratings released October 9, 2026, Humana rose to about 95% of members in plans rated four stars or higher, while UnitedHealthcare's share fell. Cigna will exit all of its ACA marketplace states for 2027. This report gives no coverage or financial advice; being named is not an endorsement.
- Google Shopping links and unresolved google.com/goto redirect links are not counted as cited sources; original URLs remain in the evidence.
- Answers were collected through each engine's API using the model IDs listed in the methodology. The consumer ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity apps can answer differently.
The 24 questions
Questions marked "Core question" are the original study questions, asked word for word. The others are added neutral questions.
| # | Question | Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | What is the best Medicare Advantage plan provider? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 02 | Which Medicare Advantage companies have the highest star ratings? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 03 | UnitedHealthcare vs Humana for Medicare Advantage: which is better? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 04 | Should I choose Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare with a supplement? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 05 | What is the best Medicare supplement insurance company? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 06 | What is the best health insurance company in the US? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 07 | What is the best health insurance for self-employed people? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 08 | What is the best ACA marketplace insurer? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 09 | Which health insurers have the best customer satisfaction? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 10 | What are the newer Medicare Advantage companies worth considering? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 11 | Where can I compare Medicare plans online? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 12 | Which insurers offer the best Medicare Part D drug plans? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 13 | Which Medicare Advantage plans have the largest provider networks? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 14 | What are the best regional Medicare Advantage plans? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 15 | Which companies offer the cheapest Medigap Plan G? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 16 | What are the best health insurance companies for families? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 17 | Which health insurers are best for employer group plans? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 18 | Which insurers have the most affordable ACA marketplace plans? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 19 | Which companies run the largest Medicaid managed care plans? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 20 | What are the best Medicaid health plans? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 21 | Which Medicare brokers are the most trusted? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 22 | Which health insurers have the fewest claim denials? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 23 | What are the best dual-eligible special needs plans? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 24 | Which Blue Cross Blue Shield plans are rated the best? | Health Insurance Index 2.0 | Added question |
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