top of page

Healthcare Emerges as a Leader in Enterprise AI Adoption

  • Writer: Abigail Freaney
    Abigail Freaney
  • 13 minutes ago
  • 4 min read

Findings from the 2025 State of Enterprise AI Report show AI easing clinician burnout while empowering patients and providers alike.


Healthcare Emerges As A Leader in Enterprise AI Adoption

With all of 2025 now in the rearview, the time has come to look back over the year and uncover the insights and opportunities that will illuminate the path ahead. In the world of healthcare, the needs of clinicians and the technology that aims to meet them have progressed rapidly, and few solutions have been more eagerly presented, debated, or adopted than AI. To shed light on AI’s past and potential growth, ChatGPT has released its first-ever State of Enterprise AI Report, which reviews the last 3 years of AI implementation through an OpenAI survey of 9,000 workers spanning nearly 100 enterprises, as well as usage data from OpenAI’s enterprise customers, and the results see healthcare stepping into the spotlight.


Healthcare Snags Second Place in AI Growth

ChatGPT’s findings show AI usage booming across the board, with the median sector expanding 6x year-over-year and the slowest sector expanding 2x, but healthcare emerges ahead of the curve with an 8x expansion rate, making it the second fastest growing sector in AI usage. Surpassed only by the technology sector – AI’s earliest and most enthusiastic adopter – healthcare is integrating AI into its administrative and clinical operations rapidly and at scale.


These results are bolstered by Athenahealth’s own year-end report: The 2025 Physician Sentiment Survey, which shows physicians steadily embracing the benefits of automation in practice and sentiment. What’s more, the survey demonstrates a promising correlation between increased AI implementation and decreased burnout among clinicians.


In 2025, Athenahealth’s Physician Sentiment Survey Finds:


  • A 68% increase in AI usage for clinical documentation

  • A 13% decrease in the sentiment that AI is overhyped

  • An 11% decrease in concerns that technology will overcomplicate healthcare

  • A 34% decrease in desire to exit the industry, with only 28% of polled physicians expressing interest in leaving medicine compared to 62% in 2024


While respondents in Athenahealth’s survey are wary of approaching AI as a cure-all, citing concerns over “a loss of human touch (61%), overreliance on AI for diagnosis (58%), and potential misdiagnoses (53%),” specialized and conscientiously implemented AI is yielding results.


Physicians surveyed overwhelmingly feel that AI’s greatest value lies in transcription services (48%) and administrative assistance (42%). In the past few years, the burdens of documentation and administrative bottlenecks have represented massive pain points for clinicians and practices, as per Athenahealth’s previous survey, but it appears physicians are finally finding relief in the automation of simple yet time-consuming tasks like notetaking and scheduling, alleviating burnout and streamlining operations without sacrificing human connection or quality of care.


Beyond Hype & Hypotheticals: Agentic AI in Action

In ChatGPT’s report, respondents across sectors report an increase in productivity using AI tools, with 75% attesting to an increase in the speed, quality, and versatility of their work and an average of 40-60 minutes saved per day. Delving deeper, the report uses case studies to better understand and track the effective implementation of AI in specialized industries.


One exemplary AI case study in healthcare comes from Oscar Health, which combined chatbot technology with system integration to create a 24/7 member-facing support platform that instantly answers 58% of benefits questions and assists members with general health inquiries, prescription refills, finding in-network doctors, and more. Because the chatbots are integrated with Oscar Health’s data systems, their machine learning is supplemented and enhanced by up-to-date member and company information, allowing for accurate and personalized responses.


“The result is a platform that can address a wide array of questions and tasks, including understanding benefits, supporting symptom-related questions, preparing for visits, and explaining follow-up instructions, while also escalating members to providers or care guides as needed,” OpenAI’s report finds, “Today, they now have the foundation for future capabilities, including appointment booking, voice interactions, and condition specific management.”


2025’s data shows AI’s most successful applications in healthcare are specialized, integrated, and designed to support human teams without distracting or replacing them. Whether through patient-focused solutions like Oscar Health’s and Ariaone’s Echo or documentation tools that directly support providers like Ariaone’s Lumina, targeted automation is proving its worth to practices by streamlining care—not disrupting it.


See How Enable Healthcare Uses Ariaone’s Echo Technology


The Next Chapter of AI in Healthcare

OpenAI and Athenahealth’s reviews of the past year show a crucial chapter opening in 2026 for healthcare’s relationship with AI implementation. AI in healthcare is no longer theoretical or even experimental; this data shows real adoption, real impact, and real relief for clinicians shouldering the hefty burden of documentation and administrative overload. While healthy skepticism still hangs around preserving clinical judgment and a human touch, today’s most effective AI case studies are proving that automation can play a valuable supporting role to the core cast of providers and administrators in healthcare’s vast spotlight.


When applied with intention and forethought, AI has demonstrated powerful potential to reduce burnout and strengthen the systems healthcare relies on every day. The opportunity ahead is not to automate indiscriminately but to continue smoothing the systemic wrinkles and soothing the pain points clinicians are intimately aware of and vocal about, providing the support that seemed impossible just a few years ago and quietly streamlining care for practices and patients alike.


Q&A:

Q: How did healthcare AI adoption accelerate in 2025, and what does it mean? 

A: Data from enterprise AI usage and physician sentiment surveys shows rapid growth in and increased positivity towards generative AI in healthcare, with a marked focus on documentation, administrative workflows, and patient communication. The targeted, intentional nature of AI adoption in healthcare and positive correlation in sentiment indicate a meaningful, scaled shift towards efficiency and holistic integration with staying power—not arbitrary, experimental, or trend-based implementation.


Q: How does generative AI in healthcare support patient empowerment with AI? 

A: By improving access to information, reducing wait times, integrating with chart data in real-time, and enabling 24/7 support for scheduling, benefits questions, and care instructions, patient-centered generative AI solutions can keep patients informed and involved through every step of their care journey.


Q: Why is AI-enabled care coordination and AI for hospital operations gaining traction? 

A: AI-enabled care coordination and AI for hospital operations can help address systemic inefficiencies that strain staff and delay care. By automating high-volume administrative tasks and improving information flow across departments, AI helps support clinicians, reduce burnout, and create a more connected patient experience.


References:





bottom of page