Lyra AI Helps People Find Care Without the Overhead

April 22, 2026

Early usage of our new AI free-text option in Lyra’s care search shows a strong signal of shifting behaviors and a better path forward to accessing the right care 

Nothing blocks the path to healing or finding what you need for your health faster than a gauntlet of drop-down menus and checkboxes. The industry standard of rigid form fills and intakes has persisted for too long. 

We set out to change this 10 years ago when we designed a more human intake for Lyra members to find mental health care and a provider that fits their needs. As we continue to iterate on the most effective ways to apply AI across the Lyra platform, we asked ourselves a simple question about our care search: What if we just let people speak for themselves?

The shift: Effort to expression, with natural language-driven intake

We recently rolled out a new feature in our care search and triage process. Instead of navigating preset options, members can use a free-text interface. Powered by Lyra AI, this tool still surfaces some guiding cues but allows our members to describe what they’re feeling or thinking in their own words, which we use to get them to the right care recommendation. 

Early signals: What the data says

We are in the early stages of this, with a phased rollout beginning in January of 2025. The initial engagement has been eye-opening, and we are approaching these insights with humility, knowing that early doesn't mean absolute, but the trend is clear: people want to be able to find what they’re looking for in an unencumbered, natural way.

37% of members who are offered the free-text option use it. In other words, more than 1 in 3 people are choosing to bypass a more traditional experience in favor of natural language.

This is happening with an early version of free text and as part of an initial rollout where we’ve included it only as a secondary option to our standard search for care intake. 

What comes next for care search 

These numbers suggest that the friction of traditional health care isn't just a nuisance, it’s a barrier that people will drop when presented with a simpler, more human alternative.

We know we haven’t solved the intake problem entirely. Rather, we’re using these early learnings to inform our continued iteration. We’re actively working to understand how our members think about their mental health before they’ve had a chance to get care, so that we can meet them with a product that speaks their language, not the other way around.