England’s National Health Service will add an AI-driven triage feature to its NHS app, directing patients to GPs, pharmacies, A&E, community services, or self-care based on responses to symptom questions. The tool, set to reach more than 200,000 patients over the next year and all users by April 2028, aims to ease bottlenecks such as 8 a.m. GP phone queues; an early trial reported a 29% drop in callers waiting for appointments. Officials emphasized that clinicians will retain control of key decisions, while nursing leaders and policy analysts urged strong safeguards for safety, confidentiality, and digital inclusion. The rollout, part of a £10 billion technology overhaul, also includes AI systems that transcribe patient-clinician conversations; a London pilot saw staff spend nearly 25% more time with patients.
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