Got a question about your VA benefits, health care, eligibility? You might want to check VA’s website, where you can access a new interactive chatbot to ask questions—24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Veterans, caregivers and families can still browse the website or search it for information, but in addition you can now ask specific questions to the chatbot. The recently launched feature is one way VA is working to offer seamless and secure access to VA’s online resources.

VA’s Veterans Experience Office and the Office of Information and Technology teamed up to design the chatbot so users can easily obtain answers to some of the most common questions, resulting in a timely, on-demand service.

“Our new artificial intelligence chatbot is one step toward reimagining the customer support experience at VA,” said Charles Worthington, VA’s Chief Technology Officer. “Today, the bot can help Veterans get immediate answers to many common questions. With more improvements underway, we build toward a future where AI can provide round-the-clock support without long wait times, allowing our human call center agents to help individuals with more complex concerns.”

Using data from existing content available on VA.gov, including health care, disability, education and training, burials and memorials, and other categories of essential information, the new chatbot cuts down on time for Veterans seeking assistance by minimizing travel to an office or waiting for a live agent by phone.

More than 36,000 people have asked the bot at least one question and have spent approximately three minutes with it. On average, about 55 percent of people who see the bot decide to try it. User questions to the bot have mostly related to the following topics:

  • Education
  • Claims
  • General benefit eligibility
  • Health care

In coming months, the chatbot’s artificial intelligence functionality will continue to expand, and the feature will provide VA more insights to improve Veterans’ access to information about the benefits and services they have earned.

Veterans and their family members can access the new interactive chatbot through VA.gov’s ‘Contact Us Page’ and then clicking the ‘Start Chat’ button.

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The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411. Please, never put personally identifiable information (SSAN, address, phone number, etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection.

14 Comments

  1. Richard K. Britt September 18, 2022 at 13:30

    I am trying to locate a fellow Veteran that I served with in VietNam from 1964 to 1965. Is there a website or other areas that could help.

  2. Arthur Gearhart September 17, 2022 at 13:31

    The FRA magazine published an article about Sec Mayorkas being in talks with the VA regarding diverting funds and from the VA to help illegal aliens at the Southern Border in their July issue. What’s the skinny on this stupidity ? Sen. Boozman (R-Ark) sponsored SB 4082 to stop this. Do the Democrats really want to do this ? Diverting funding and manpower from an already overburdened VA is totally insane.

    [Editor: Don’t know anything about “diverting funds,” but are you talking about DHS and VA hosting naturalization outreach for noncitizen service members and Veterans?

    1. https://www.dhs.gov/news/2021/07/02/dhs-va-announce-initiative-support-noncitizen-service-members-veterans-and-immediate

    2. https://news.va.gov/102866/the-immigrant-military-members-and-veterans-initiative-and-how-va-supports-immigrant-veterans/

    3. https://news.va.gov/106143/va-to-host-naturalization-outreach-for-targeted-veterans/ ]

  3. Judith S. Kennan September 15, 2022 at 18:50

    Are the wives of VA participants acceptable for health care like their husbands?

  4. Jim la Brosse September 15, 2022 at 18:02

    What is this camp Lejune water law suit fact ,or fiction?

  5. Edward Hara September 15, 2022 at 12:51

    Vet retired from AF reserves after 23 yrs. I applied for medical but was told my income was too high for VA medical benefits. I have a critical kidney and am on dialysis. Does the VA offer any health assistance.

  6. J. V. Kirkland September 15, 2022 at 10:50

    When I call the main number at the VA Medical Center in Tuskegee, Al and try to reach an extension number (using the proper prefix number) I get a recording stating the number is not recognized. I have to recall the main operator and get the operator to dial the extension for me. When I ask the question as to who do I speak with about the problem, no seems to know! This has been going on for a long time.

  7. Jesus Garcia September 15, 2022 at 01:43

    I don’t know if this is the right place for information about burial through the VA. I am a Vietnam Vet. Do I have to make arrangements way ahead of time? I have no idea how it works. I am 100% disable through the VA.

  8. John Pat Baker September 14, 2022 at 22:20

    My a/c unit in my home just went out. My question is does the V/A have any kind of programs to help veterans with the cost of a new unit? I serve six years in the service part time in the national guard and part time active duty during the Berlin crises. I used the v/a hospital for a long time until I got too old to make the drive since I live in Kaufman Texas. I am now 85 years old. It would certainly be helpful if the v/a had some kind of program to help in my situation . Thank you.

  9. John Hien September 14, 2022 at 22:15

    I’m a Vietnam combat vet living alone in a place called Wilson Commons in Milwaukee, WI. I get very lonely and feel constant anxiety due to the greed the managers place on the elderly residents who live here. Today I learned that rents are increasing by $100/month. In return, the tenants get nothing. I would like to move but I have no support from anyone, not even my family. When my lease comes up in July of 2023, if my rent increases by $100/month, I’m just going to leave the place and most likely become homeless.

  10. Francis J. McGarry September 14, 2022 at 21:38

    Why does the Veterans Administration not support me over the fact that my former employer for Motor Company refused to acknowledge my status as a service connected disabled letter and eventually was fired after I had a breakdown PTSD. The US Department of Labor actually determine that Ford Motor Company discriminated against me as a disabled veteran why has the VA remained silent

  11. Ronald Schneider September 14, 2022 at 21:02

    I am 100% disabled veteran. My wife gets 80% paid for through my insurance. And the other 20%gets paid for by Champ VA. When I go to my doctor my insurance pays 80% and I have to pay the other 20%. Why can’t I use my VA disability to pay that 20%?

  12. Ruben September 14, 2022 at 19:54

    I waited nine months for a reimbursement that I finally received yesterday. Had I not paid when billed I would have been subject to late charges. Why is the standard different for the VA? Shouldn’t the same late charge scale apply to them?

  13. Valerie Vlaskovich September 14, 2022 at 19:10

    Veterans are being taken advantage of by Tri Care Express Scripts. In May 2022 I filled three, 90 day scripts at Walgreen’s Pharmacy each cost me $4.10. In Sept. those same refills cost me $14.01 each. Walgreen’s told me that Tri Care increased the cost. Tri Care told me that the manufacturer increased their cost therefore it had to be passed on to me. Wrong! the retail cost on both receipts for May and Sept. were the same. Tri Care reminded me if I were getting these scripts filled by Express Scripts they would have only cost me $12.00 each. The reason I started going to Walgreen’s was because the cost was so much lower than Express Scripts. I, as many Veterans, live on a fixed income and with the current State of the Union need to save wherever I can. Is this how a contractor with the VA is expected to treat us? I don’t think so!

  14. Judith P. Mucci September 13, 2022 at 11:32

    Finally, another way to get answers about VA benefits etc.
    Northfield VA Medical Clinic has had 2 MDs Retire that l saw. Since then their replacements l experience are so, so green! I always feel like I’m educating them. I had my first emergency situation and the PA was so lacking direction. It was a nightmare!!! She was unaware of my qualifications to go locally to approved facilities like Rothman Institute etc. She never even reviewed current issues in my chart! I had to bring in my own VA medical issues for her to read. I’m sorry but this is inexcusable!
    She didn’t even remember me from an initial face to face visit!
    And there’s lots more but I’ll refrain for now.

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