Report: Harvard Medical School data backing healthcare-focused Microsoft Copilot update

Microsoft is looking to become the top player in healthcare-based AI chatbots, citing its partnership with Harvard Medical School as a major part of a plan to leap ahead of competitors.

Microsoft’s Copilot chat app, built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT through a collaboration, is set to release a major update soon, possibly before the end of the month, according to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.

The new Copilot will draw from data published by Harvard Medical School, with the expectation that it will be better prepared to answer questions about healthcare and medicine. According to the source, Microsoft believes its artificial intelligence will excel in this area, beating out alternatives, including ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and others.

For its report, the Wall Street Journal spoke to Dominic King, vice president of health at Microsoft AI, who said the goal is to have Copilot deliver responses that are similar to those of an actual human doctor.

He added that Copilot could help users better manage common chronic conditions, such as diabetes. For now, studies have been mixed on how reliably chatbots can offer such advice—with researchers and providers broadly advising people not to trust what they’re told without consulting a provider.

While King would not discuss the deal with Harvard, it’s clear Microsoft is hoping its update will build goodwill for LLM AI as a source of quality medical information.

As part of the deal, Harvard will reportedly receive a licensing fee for ongoing access to its data.

For more, read the exclusive coverage from the Wall Street Journal at the link below.