Kinney Drugs Scales Back AI Assistant After Customer Complaints

Pharmacy chain reverses course on automation

Kinney Drugs has scaled back an AI assistant it deployed in May 2026 after customers reported medication delays, incorrect refill information, and confusion navigating the automated system. The Vermont and New York pharmacy chain confirmed the pullback in an interview with WCAX on August 8, 2026.

The AI tool, named Burt after the pharmacy's founder, was designed to handle routine patient communications and prescription refills. Instead, it created friction for customers who found themselves approving incorrect refill requests or struggling to reach human pharmacists.

Kathy Callaghan, a Kinney customer, described receiving unexpected calls from the AI requesting refills on prescriptions she didn't need. "Caught off guard, she would approve the requests, believing they were accurate," but often received medications she hadn't intended to reorder, according to VTDigger's reporting.

What changed

Kinney Drugs has returned to its previous touch-tone phone system for patient calls, according to John Marraffa, president of the pharmacy chain. The AI tool will continue operating for prescription refill texts, but with a critical change: patients must now opt in to receive these messages.

Previously, any customer who provided a phone number to Kinney Drugs automatically consented to AI interactions under the pharmacy's terms. That default enrollment was among the concerns raised by both customers and privacy experts.

Marraffa acknowledged in the WCAX interview that the technology "did not get customer experience 'right,'" though he defended the tool's security measures. The company had previously stated that Burt was "designed to supplement pharmacy teams by handling routine, non-clinical interactions so staff can focus more time on direct patient care."

Why it matters

The Kinney Drugs experience illustrates the implementation challenges healthcare organizations face when deploying AI for patient-facing services. Automation intended to improve efficiency can backfire when it disrupts established workflows or erodes the personal relationships that define community healthcare. The case also highlights a regulatory gap: Vermont's new data privacy law, signed in June 2026, doesn't take effect until 2028, leaving consumers with limited protection as healthcare AI adoption accelerates nationwide.

Customer response

Dave Bellini, Callaghan's partner, told VTDigger he had contacted Kinney's corporate office to voice concerns about the AI eroding the pharmacy's "small-scale feel and personable customer service." When a pharmacist answered their call last week instead of the AI, both customers were "thrilled."

"They got a winning team there, and they got great humans," Bellini said. "They should have never gone to robots. Most of their customers are old, or they got an illness. They don't want to deal with that."

A Kinney representative had previously acknowledged that "some patients have experienced frustration with Burt, especially during rollout," and said the company was reviewing concerns and attempting to reach affected patients.

These details were first reported by VTDigger.