By Webb Wright
Publication Date: 2026-01-17 12:00:00
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- ChatGPT Health and Claude for Healthcare both debuted last week.
- Google’s MedGemma 1.5 model was introduced shortly thereafter.
- They all signal the growing presence of AI within healthcare.
Three of the world’s leading AI labs have kicked off the new year with the launch of healthcare-oriented products.
Their functions vary, but they all point in the same direction: a world in which patients, payers, and providers increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to accelerate certain critical operations and democratize access to key benefits. It’s still early days for AI-powered healthcare, and the lack of federal oversight means there’s very little accountability if the technology acts in unexpected and dangerous ways. But the three new products give us a glimpse of what’s likely to become the new normal.


