Microsoft has unveiled Copilot Health, an AI-powered tool that it claims can help make sense of your medical records, health history and fitness data from a wearable, if you give it access to that data. The company said it will be in a “separate, secure space” within the Copilot app, and the idea is to help provide you with more context and insights so you can ask your doctor the right questions when you see them.
Copilot Health is designed to help you better understand your medical information, says Microsoft. It is “not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent disease or other conditions and is not a substitute for professional medical advice,” the company pointed out in a blog post.
The device can pull activity, fitness and sleep data from more than 50 devices, including the Apple Watch, Oura and Fitbit. Through HealthEx, it can access health records that include visit summaries, medication details and test results from more than 50,000 hospitals and provider organizations in the United States. It can go from function to lab test results, if you allow it to do so.
Copilot Health can take all these details and “apply intelligence to turn them into a coherent story,” such as helping you identify the reasons why you’re not sleeping very well, the company suggested. It can access real-time provider directories across the United States to help users find clinicians based on factors such as location, specialty, language spoken and insurance coverage.
Microsoft says users on AI-powered consumer products like Copilot and Bing ask more than 50 million health-related questions every day. “We’ve improved the quality and reliability of our responses by leveraging data from reputable health organizations in 50 countries, as validated by our clinical team based on principles independently established by the National Academy of Medicine,” the blog post reads. “Answers include clear references with easy links to source material, along with answer cards written by experts from Harvard Health.”
As far as privacy is concerned, Microsoft says Copilot’s health data and conversations are muted from the wider Copilot app and there are additional access and security controls in place, including “encryption at rest and in transit.” You may delete your information and terminate the App’s access to health records and wearable data at any time. Microsoft also notes that it won’t use your copilot health data to train its models.
The company explained that Copilot Health is informed by its responsible AI principles. Microsoft developed the tool in collaboration with its clinical team and with the expertise and feedback of more than 230 physicians from dozens of countries. “Copilot Health has achieved ISO/IEC 42001 certification, the world’s first standard for AI management systems, which means an independent third party has verified how we develop, manage and continuously improve the AI behind this service,” it noted.
Microsoft has opened a waiting list for those interested in trying Copilot Health. The tool will initially be available in English for those 18 and older in the United States. The company is working on adding support for more languages and voice options and will announce availability for these and other regions.
While users will be able to try Copilot Health for free at first, Microsoft plans to charge for access via subscription, according to The New York Times. The company has not disclosed the pricing details yet.
The CoPilot Health announcement comes just days after Amazon expanded its health AI tool beyond a medical one. It’s available now on Amazon’s website and app. Prime members in the United States have the option to discuss certain conditions with a medical provider via direct message at no additional cost. Earlier this year, OpenAI announced that it was testing the health of ChatGPT. Entropy also has health care devices.
Given how difficult it is for many people to access affordable health care and the fact that their information and health records are often spread across a number of providers, some may believe that there are benefits to using such tools from AI companies.
However, there’s a big difference between tracking your sleep or calling your doctor after the Apple Watch detects signs of atrial fibrillation and submits all your medical information to a chatbot. There are also issues such as AI hallucinations and chatbots directly providing bad advice to users, as well as the possibility that an LLM-based tool may underestimate or exaggerate potential risks.
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