GP chatbot integration offers early alcohol advice

Patients will be signposted to alcohol advice from Drinkaware through the AI Surgery Assist chatbot, used by GP surgeries across the UK.

Through a partnership between X-on Health and the UK alcohol charity, patients engaging with the chatbot who mention alcohol concerns, will automatically be signposted to Drinkaware’s information and self-help tools.

The aim is to take a community-first approach, providing patients with non-judgmental advice at the first point of contact, before they speak to a GP or nurse.

Sharon Hanley, director of primary care at X-on Health, said: “Primary care is the front door to the NHS and working to support the wider community is so important, aligning directly to the neighbourhood health aspirations of the NHS 10 year health plan.

“We’re proud to partner with Drinkaware in this initiative and plan to introduce further approaches to support local communities in the future.”

X-on Health’s digital tools help GP surgeries reduce demand by routing patient contacts to appropriate self-care, pharmacy or community services.

By embedding Drinkaware signposting into early interactions, practices can offer guidance immediately, while preserving clinician time for other appointments.

The resources include access to the Drinking Check, advice on how to moderate your drinking, and links to mental health guidance.

Karen Tyrell, chief executive at Drinkaware, said: “Supporting people to make informed choices about their drinking is our mission at Drinkaware.

“We are therefore delighted to be working with X-on Health and GP practices in this new initiative to signpost people to our tools and advice through the NHS digital front door.

“It is exactly the type of collaboration the NHS 10 year health plan envisages, using AI and digital tools to help GP surgeries reduce demand.”

Meanwhile, in May 2025, it was announced that clinical AI assistants will be made available to GP practices across the UK through a strategic partnership between TORTUS and X-on Health.

TORTUS’ Surgery Intellect ambient voice technology listens to face-to-face and telephone consultations and automatically generates clinical notes, referral letters, clinical coding, and administrative tasks in real-time.

The clinical AI assistants will be available to all GP practices regardless of their existing telephony provider, with additional benefits available to existing customers of X-on Health’s Surgery Connect cloud telephony system.