The AI-powered future of health: Insights from Microsoft leaders

Over the last few years, healthcare and life sciences organizations have made great strides in harnessing AI to accelerate scientific breakthroughs, enhance clinician productivity and wellbeing, and improve patient experiences and outcomes. 

It’s remarkable to think how far we’ve come since Microsoft was founded 50 years ago. But what’s truly astonishing is the pace of progress we’re now seeing, as rapid advancements in AI create opportunities to solve industry problems that once seemed intractable. 

Microsoft has been at the frontier of AI research and development for decades, and we’re committed to sharing our learnings and insights with stakeholders throughout healthcare and life sciences. That’s why we’ve created the 2025 AI in Healthcare Decision Brief. This in-depth industry analysis is split into two parts: Part 1: Insights on navigating the AI platform shift, and Part 2: Perspectives on the role of AI in shaping the future of healthcare.  

Each part features expert perspectives from Microsoft leaders, inspirational examples of AI successes in healthcare and life sciences, and practical advice for accelerating AI adoption in your organization. 

Here’s an overview of what you’ll find in the report. 

The current state of AI in healthcare and life sciences  

Over half (57%) of life sciences organizations and 45% of healthcare organizations see generative AI as the most important technology to adopt, and 79% are currently using some form of AI.¹ While early use cases for generative AI typically focus on boosting productivity, as trust and adoption continue to grow, new use cases will emerge that have a transformational impact on the entire sector—and on patients’ health. 

Realizing this AI-powered future of health will require organizations to:  

• Create trustworthy AI.
  Trustworthy AI is essential for systems that have a direct impact on drug development and patient care—the stakes are too high to compromise on security, privacy, and safety. That’s why the work of collaborative industry bodies like the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) and the Trustworthy and Responsible AI Network (TRAIN) is so vital to build confidence that AI solutions are safe for use in medical research and clinical practice. 

• Overcome adoption challenges.
  While all organizations must overcome concerns around skills, security, compliance, and change management, healthcare-specific AI solutions must also prove their worth in existing workflows. 

• Understand how to succeed.
  Successful adoption depends on having a clear understanding of organizational readiness and the drivers of AI value. The report offers a wealth of best-practice guidance and expert advice on key considerations and practical actions for achieving your desired outcomes with AI. 

• Learn from the industry’s AI pioneers.
  The report also features success stories from Microsoft customers in healthcare and life sciences, showing how they’re overcoming common hurdles and accomplishing ambitious goals. 

Today’s AI innovations—and tomorrow’s possibilities 

AI innovators are already delivering meaningful impact in healthcare and life sciences—from creating synthetic data to accelerate drug development to supporting physicians with real-time clinical insights at the point of care. New technology advances will allow innovators to create solutions that will have an even greater, industry-wide impact, dramatically improving health equity and care outcomes for patients worldwide. 

• Organizations leading the innovation charge.
  Part two of our report explores examples of how startups, established technology companies, and research organizations are innovating and collaborating to advance AI capabilities in healthcare and life sciences. 

• Technology advancements supporting the next wave of innovation.
  Significant advances in underlying infrastructure, data platforms, and foundational models are creating the conditions for a “Cambrian explosion” of AI innovations that will propel scientific progress and support a new age of precision medicine and predictive health. 

Advice from Microsoft leaders for accelerating AI success  

As we celebrate the accomplishments of Microsoft employees, alumni, partners, and customers over the last half-century, we’re also looking ahead to what the next 50 years could bring, as we continue our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. 

Wherever your organization is on its AI journey, we’re here to make the path smoother and help you achieve the right outcomes. 

Get The 2025 AI in Healthcare Decision Brief, Part 1: Insights on navigating the AI platform shift now for Microsoft AI leadership perspectives on:  

• Generative AI’s impact in healthcare—Joe Petro, Corporate Vice President, Healthcare and Life Sciences Solutions and Platforms 

• Staying ahead of emerging challenges and threats with AI and security for AI—Ann Johnson, Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Deputy CISO 

• Navigating the future of healthcare together—Kees Hertogh, Vice President, Healthcare and Life Sciences Marketing 

• The role of partners and startups to advance innovation—Sally Frank, Worldwide Lead, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Microsoft for Startups 

• Building trust to operationalize responsible AI in healthcare—Dr. David Rhew, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President for Healthcare 

Read The 2025 AI in Healthcare Decision Brief, Part 2: Perspectives on the role of AI in shaping the future of healthcare for more leadership perspectives on: 

• Empowering people to deliver and receive better health—responsibly and purposefully—Dr. Peter Lee, President, Microsoft Research 

• The real-world impact of AI in healthcare—Matthew Lungren, MD MPH, Chief Scientific Officer, Healthcare and Life Sciences 

• Microsoft’s commitment to supporting customers to succeed with AI—Patty Carrolo, Corporate Vice President, US Healthcare and Life Sciences 

• Building the AI-powered future of health—Kathleen Mitford, Corporate Vice President, Global Industry Marketing 

Explore the 2025 AI in Healthcare Decision Brief 

• For insights on how to navigate the AI platform shift, read Part 1.
• For perspectives on the role AI plays in shaping the future of healthcare, read Part 2. 

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¹McKinsey, Market perspective: AI and GenAI in Life Sciences 

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Source: Microsoft Industry Blog