Microsoft expands Copilot with Harvard healthcare partnership

Microsoft aims to build its own AI chatbot empire, reducing reliance on OpenAI. The company plans to use healthcare as a key growth area, starting with a major Copilot update expected this month.

The update, developed with Harvard Medical School, will use licensed data from Harvard Health Publishing to deliver accurate medical responses.

Microsoft’s health AI vice president, Dominic King, said the goal is to offer answers comparable to medical professionals, helping users manage conditions like diabetes.

The tech giant is also developing tools to locate healthcare providers based on users’ insurance coverage.

With Copilot downloaded 95 million times—far behind ChatGPT’s 1 billion—Microsoft is strengthening its in-house AI models, supported by talent from Google’s DeepMind, to gain technological independence.