In an era of greater autonomy after years of experimenting with passive artificial intelligence, Google Cloud Global Director of Healthcare Aashima Gupta says it's no longer a question of adoption – it's a question of implementation.
Speaking in an exclusive interview at Google Cloud Next 2026, Gupta outlined how AI has rapidly embedded itself into clinical workflows – and not by top-down pressure. Instead, frontline demand has been a huge influence in how AI systems get delivered across the industry, with tools designed to reduce worker fatigue at the cause.
In one example, automating nurse handoff notes saves minutes per interaction across tens of thousands of daily transitions, reclaiming significant time for actual patient care.
Google's vision for AI in healthcare is almost entirely administrative
But the real transformation is yet to come, lying in what Gupta describes as healthcare's "agentic moment." Rather than just assisting humans, AI agents are beginning to orchestrate entire workflows, reasoning across systems, adapting to context and executing multi-step processes.
"These are agents – they don't get tired," she added, highlighting the power of autonomy in handing repetitive, administrative tasks while clinicians focus on high-value, human-centered care.
Agentic is the name of the game in an industry still dominated by legacy systems and physical paper records. Gupta argues that modern AI agents can now stitch together systems like electronic medical records, imaging systems, labs and insurance platforms.
But while workers are increasingly accepting of AI assistance having experimented with consumer products in their own time, Google Cloud knows the real battle to widespread adoption is in trust, not capability.
Data residency, audibility and role-based access controls are all key to making AI succeed within healthcare – one of the most regulated industries, but also one of the industries likely to benefit the most from correctly deployed AI.
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Looking ahead, Gupta envisions a future where every patient has access to an AI assistant through their own healthcare provider, hospital or clinic. Gemini's power isn't enough, she explained, noting that Google doesn't have access to your personal records (nor does it want to).
But for hyper-personalized healthcare recommendations that could prevent visits to the clinic altogether, purpose-built AI chatbots are very much the goal.
And as for the smaller healthcare providers, Gupta's message is clear: "Be in the arena." Start experimenting now with early pilots around high-frequency, low-risk workflows to gain internal expertise, and build out from there.
Ultimately, Gupta sees AI as a capacity engine for clinicians and not a replacement for workers in an industry defined by human interaction.
