STAMFORD, Conn. — Healthcare organizations are increasingly embedding artificial intelligence into core operations as they seek to improve efficiency, reduce administrative burdens and strengthen care delivery, according to a new report from Information Services Group.
The 2026 ISG Provider Lens global AI Services in Healthcare report found that healthcare enterprises are moving from pilot projects to more structured, enterprise-wide AI adoption. Organizations are integrating AI into clinical, administrative and payer workflows as they respond to cost pressures, workforce shortages and demand for more precise operations.
“The healthcare industry is no longer evaluating AI on technical merit alone, but also on its ability to deliver consistent business outcomes at scale,” said James Burke, partner and Healthcare lead at ISG. “Organizations are incorporating AI in core processes as a strategic capability, emphasizing accountability, traceability and real-world impact.”
ISG said healthcare enterprises are focusing AI investments on processes where automation can produce immediate operational benefits, including clinical documentation, prior authorization and revenue cycle management. In those areas, AI is being used to reduce cycle times, improve accuracy and streamline administrative workflows, allowing staff to focus more on higher-value work and patient-facing activities.
The report also found that organizations are investing in stronger data foundations to support scalable AI use. ISG said interoperability, standardized data models and improved data quality are helping produce more reliable outputs and reduce fragmentation across systems.
AI adoption is also moving from assistive tools toward more autonomous, workflow-oriented applications that can complete tasks within defined parameters. Emerging agentic AI systems are being used to coordinate multi-step processes, shifting AI from insight generation toward execution. ISG said human oversight remains important, particularly in clinically sensitive functions, to ensure AI outputs align with regulatory and operational requirements.
“Healthcare enterprises are elevating AI into an operational backbone that coordinates decisions and actions across complex environments,” said Rohan Sinha, ISG principal analyst and lead author of the report. “Providers that can integrate these layers into existing systems while maintaining control and reliability will give clients a long-term competitive edge.”
The report also identified change management, lifecycle management and monitoring of AI systems as important factors for scaling AI in healthcare.
ISG evaluated 32 providers across two categories: Healthcare AI Strategy and Advisory Services and Healthcare AI Development and Delivery Services.
The report named Accenture, CitiusTech, Cognizant, Deloitte, EXL, HCLTech, Infosys, TCS and Wipro as leaders in both categories. NTT DATA was named a leader in one category.
