It sits at the front end of the revenue cycle, between scheduling and the visit, and most downstream problems trace back to it: eligibility denials, surprise balances, refunds, and claims that pay less than expected because the wrong deductible or network tier was assumed. Verification done at the procedure level, close to the date of service, is what prevents them.
In most practices the eligibility level is automated inside the EHR or practice-management system, while the benefits level is still done by hand: reading payer responses, checking payer policies and calling payers for the facts that are missing. That manual layer is what AI verification tools replace.
