Collaborating on a nationwide randomized study of AI in real-world virtual care

In partnership with Included Health, we will be launching a first-of-its-kind nationwide study to evaluate conversational AI within real-world virtual care workflows. This research will move beyond simulation and retrospective data and aim to gather rigorous prospective evidence on how AI performs in clinical settings at scale.

AI systems capable of clinical reasoning and dialogue have the potential to dramatically increase access to medical expertise and care while giving physicians back time with their patients where it truly matters. However, developing these technologies responsibly requires a rigorous, evidence-based approach. Over the past few years, our teams have explored the "art of the possible" through research systems that demonstrate clinician-level capabilities in simulated settings. While we have begun testing the safety and feasibility of these systems in clinical settings, moving to the next stage of assessing these systems requires additional rigor and scale. It involves studying the utility and impact of AI in virtual care involving more patients across an array of geographies and conditions and with controlled comparisons.

Today, we are announcing a significant step in that ongoing research journey: In partnership with Included Health, a leading US healthcare provider, we will be launching, pending Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, a prospective consented nationwide randomized study to assess AI in a real-world virtual care setting. This new research will build upon our foundational research on the use of AI for diagnostic and management reasoning, personalized health insights and navigating health information.

Evaluation at scale: A nationwide study with Included Health

Building on our existing foundation of rigorous research

This study is informed by years of foundational research across Google, where we have systematically investigated the capabilities required for a helpful and safe medical AI.