Qualtrics, the company that created the experience management (XM) category, is bringing artificial intelligence deeper into healthcare with the help of Stanford Health Care. The two organizations have expanded their collaboration to develop AI agents that turn predictive insights into real-time, targeted actions—designed to free up clinicians from administrative tasks and preserve what matters most: the provider–patient relationship.
These AI agents, powered by the Qualtrics XM Platform, aim to reduce friction in care delivery by embedding intelligent, context-aware actions directly into healthcare workflows. The goal: make experience a measurable determinant of outcomes across access, coordination, and engagement.
“AI agents are a leap forward in what’s possible with experience management,” said Zig Serafin, CEO at Qualtrics. “This collaboration—combining Qualtrics’ human understanding with Stanford’s clinical expertise—will elevate how providers manage and deliver care at unprecedented scale.”
From Insights to Actions
Healthcare organizations collect massive amounts of data—from electronic medical records to call center transcripts, patient surveys, and even social media. The challenge is making that data actionable in the moment.
The Qualtrics–Stanford agents are designed to do exactly that, translating unified operational and patient data into timely interventions such as:
- Preventing missed appointments by predicting no-shows and offering automatic rescheduling, telehealth alternatives, or arranging transportation.
- Delivering language- and culture-specific support by flagging communication barriers and connecting patients with interpreters or bilingual staff.
- Fixing care coordination breakdowns by detecting prescription delays post-discharge and triggering automated workflows to expedite delivery.
- Avoiding conflicting care instructions by scanning cross-department communications to ensure patients get consistent guidance.
- Addressing social drivers of health by linking patients with food, housing, or transportation resources to prevent complications and readmissions.
By embedding these tasks directly into workflows, the AI agents shorten the time between identifying a problem and resolving it—helping providers act before small issues escalate.
Protecting the Core of Care
For David Entwistle, President and CEO of Stanford Health Care, the initiative is about balance:
“By developing AI that supports our teams and aligns with the way we deliver care, we can protect the time and attention that fuels the provider–patient relationship.”
This reflects a growing industry consensus that AI in healthcare should augment, not replace, the human connection. Patients expect convenience and precision, but they also need empathy and trust.
Alpa Vyas, SVP and Chief Patient Experience and Operational Performance Officer at Stanford Health Care, framed it this way:
“The future of the patient experience is precision—knowing not just what a patient needs, but when and how to act on it.”
Scaling Beyond Stanford
Though the new AI agents were co-developed within Stanford Health Care’s complex academic medical center, the system is modular and EMR-integrated, making it deployable across other health systems. This builds on a collaboration dating back to 2021, when Stanford began using Qualtrics to integrate patient and care team feedback, predict needs, and improve care delivery.
By combining predictive insights with operational execution, Qualtrics and Stanford are setting the stage for a new model of healthcare—one where experience, efficiency, and equity directly shape outcomes.
Bottom Line
Healthcare has long struggled with data overload, care coordination breakdowns, and administrative drag. The Qualtrics–Stanford Health Care partnership shows how AI agents could change that equation: moving from passive insights to proactive, precision actions.
If successful, this model could scale well beyond Stanford, offering a blueprint for how AI can improve patient experiences without compromising the humanity at the heart of care.
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