According to a new study from Eliciting Insights, 75% of U.S. health systems currently use or plan to use at least one artificial intelligence application, up from 59% in 2025.
Research (PDF), a leading market research firm, surveyed executives from 120 health systems across the United States for its second annual AI Adoption Survey. The pool of respondents reflected a variety of system sizes and electronic health record platforms.
“In 2026, health systems are deploying AI to address both workforce constraints and financial pressures,” Trish Rivard, CEO of Eliciting Insights, said in a statement. “Organizations are moving beyond pilots and strategically deploying solutions that have a direct impact on provider burnout and revenue.”
Adoption of AI platforms has not only skyrocketed among systems implementing one platform, as 67% of respondents said they use three or more applications on their systems. More than half of health systems that were able to quantify the return on investment of deployed AI solutions reported a 2x ROI.
However, the survey found that respondents had mixed experiences implementing AI solutions, with challenges ranging from implementation delays to staff hesitation.
According to the report, the most widely adopted AI applications remain consistent year after year, with clinical note taking and ambient listening at the top. Researchers observed the implementation and growth of the following AI platforms from 2025 to 2026:
- Clinical note taking: 68% adoption rate, 62% year-over-year growth
- AI-based clinical documentation improvements: 43% adoption rate, 59% year-over-year growth
- AI coding solutions: 36% adoption rate, 29% year-over-year growth
- Draft responses to patient texts: 36% adoption, 80% increase year over year
- AI Negative Prediction: 25% Adoption Rate, 4% Growth Rate (YoY)
- AI admin chatbot: 25% adoption rate, 19% year-over-year growth
- Pre-populating technological appeal with AI: 21% adoption, 50% growth YoY
- AI pre-populates clinical appeals: 19% adoption, 27% growth YoY
