Microsoft has announced that its latest health-focused AI system can diagnose medical cases four times more accurately than human doctors.
In a blog post shared on Monday, the company revealed that its AI tool, called the Microsoft AI Diagnostic Orchestrator, outperformed experienced physicians during a medical test.
The trial included 304 medical case studies from the New England Journal of Medicine. Both the AI and the doctors were asked to handle these cases step by step, as they would in real medical settings. This involved ordering tests, asking questions, and narrowing down possible illnesses.
The AI system was enhanced with large language models from tech giants like OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, and Google. When paired with OpenAI’s o3 model, the AI successfully solved 85.5% of the cases.
Meanwhile, 21 doctors from the US and UK — each with 5 to 20 years of experience — managed an average accuracy of just 20%. It’s worth noting that the doctors did not have access to their usual diagnostic tools like books, colleagues, or AI assistance during the experiment.
Microsoft also highlighted that its AI system was able to diagnose cases in a more cost-effective way than the human doctors.
The company explained: “Our findings suggest AI could help cut down unnecessary healthcare costs. With US healthcare spending approaching 20% of GDP and up to 25% of that being wasted, AI could make a big difference.”
Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, wrote on X: “This is a huge step towards medical superintelligence.” He added that the medical cases in the study were some of the toughest and most complex doctors typically face.
However, Microsoft clarified that its AI is not meant to replace doctors. Instead, it is designed to support medical professionals.
The company said, “Doctors do much more than diagnose illnesses. They handle complex situations and build trust with patients — something AI cannot do.”
Experts have also said AI tools can assist with early stages of care but should still refer serious cases to trained professionals.
