CDC's Vision for AI in Public Health

At a glance

By using modern AI capabilities to accelerate detection and response, reduce administrative burden on staff and partners, and drive operational excellence, CDC is transforming how the agency improves public health and protects Americans from health threats.

CDC's Vision for Use of Artificial Intelligence in Public Health

Vision

CDC staff and public health agencies nationwide will harness the abundance of opportunity that artificial intelligence (AI) offers by safely and securely applying the tools available to them.

As a leader in AI, CDC wants to empower all staff to harness AI effectively, streamline operations, and forge dynamic partnerships across industry, academia, other federal agencies, and state, tribal, local and territorial public health agencies. By embracing the transformative power of AI, we are working to create a healthier future and improve the lives of all Americans.

Key Terms

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments. Artificial intelligence systems use machine- and human-based inputs to perceive real and virtual environments; abstract such perceptions into models through analysis in an automated manner; and use model inference to formulate options for information or action. (15 U.S.C. 9401(3)).

Machine learning (ML) means an application of artificial intelligence that is characterized by providing systems the ability to automatically learn and improve on the basis of data or experience (15 U.S.C. 9401(3)).

AI Innovation at CDC

Demonstrated impact

  • Became the first federal agency to deploy a generative AI (GenAI) chatbot to all staff, contributing to over $3.7 million Aestimated in labor costs saved to date and a 527% return on investmentA.
  • Served as a source of GenAI guidance for more than 30 federal agencies.
  • Generated 103 AI solutions (as of December 31, 2025), also known as use cases, that demonstrate the power of AI in preventing outbreaks and enhancing operational efficiency. Information about the use cases is available in the annual HHS AI Use Case Inventory.

How AI Supports CDC’s Public Health Data Strategy

CDC's Public Health Data Strategy (PHDS), launched in 2023 and updated each year with new milestones, supports swift, secure, and comprehensive exchange of health data.

AI plays a crucial role in accelerating the PHDS and strengthens the annual milestones by:

  • Supporting response readiness by optimizing the exchange of critical health data.
  • Enabling rapid analysis of vast datasets, including images, audio, free text, and genomic information.
  • Identifying relationships in health data that traditional methods might overlook.
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Content Source:
Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology
  1. Estimated calculations for return on investment, time saved, and cost savings are based on an internal, unpublished CDC analysis of chatbot usage to include: tokens, task types, industry benchmarks on time savings, estimated labor rates, implementation costs, infrastructure costs, platform costs, and training and adoption costs.