Mumbai, Aug 14: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has rolled out the beta version of a health chatbot on WhatsApp powered by Fractal Analytics’ Vaidya.ai, aimed at delivering free, multilingual and multimodal health information to users across the city, the company reported on Monday.
WhatsApp interface to simplify access
Fractal Analytics said the chatbot, reachable at +91 9892993368, is the first deployment under a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the firm and the BMC in July 2026. The service is intended to function within one of India’s largest public healthcare networks, offering health guidance through a familiar messaging platform.
The beta chatbot will provide a range of user-facing services, Fractal reported, including:
- AI-generated simplified summaries of laboratory reports in English, Marathi and other select languages to help users understand key findings and observed values.
- Location-based assistance to identify nearby BMC healthcare facilities suited to the user’s needs.
- On-demand trusted health and wellness information through a conversational interface available anytime.
Integration with clinical workflows and public health intelligence
Beyond patient-facing features, Fractal said the broader initiative includes components designed for clinical and administrative use. These features are being piloted with the stated goals of improving pre-consultation workflows and strengthening public health monitoring.
Key elements of the pilot, as described by Fractal, include:
- AI-guided pre-consultation support that captures chief complaints, self-reported medical history and medication details before a consultation and generates structured summaries for doctors to view within the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS).
- A Public Health Intelligence Dashboard intended to provide aggregated, actionable insights for disease surveillance and health-system planning.
| Feature | Intended User |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp chatbot (multilingual) | Patients/general public |
| AI pre-consultation summaries | Clinicians |
| Public Health Intelligence Dashboard | Health administrators |
Claims on model performance and national AI role
Fractal said Vaidya.ai is the world’s first AI model to score above 50 on OpenAI’s HealthBench (Hard), outperforming GPT-5 and Gemini Pro 3, and that the company has been selected under the Government of India’s IndiaAI Mission to build a national reasoning model focused on healthcare. These performance claims were reported by the company in its statement.
Fractal characterised the chatbot as part of a “broader AI-powered public health initiative” being piloted by the BMC and the company. The deployment is being presented as a step towards integrating AI tools into public health delivery, patient engagement and provider workflows.
Careful rollout and clinical safeguards
Digital health tools that provide patient-facing information and clinical summaries can improve access and efficiency, but public-health experts and regulators emphasise the need for safeguards. The World Health Organization (WHO), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have in recent years highlighted the importance of validation, transparency and clinical oversight when deploying AI in healthcare.
Please note: this chatbot aims to support users with information and navigation; it is not a substitute for professional medical evaluation. Users with symptoms or medical concerns should consult a qualified healthcare provider, as recommended by health authorities.
The BMC and Fractal did not provide detailed timelines for wider rollout beyond the beta, nor exhaustive technical documentation in their announcement. Further reporting on clinical validation, data privacy protections and integration with existing electronic health records will be important as the pilot progresses.
The use of WhatsApp as the delivery channel follows a growing trend in India to leverage familiar messaging platforms for health communication, particularly in urban public health systems seeking to expand reach and reduce barriers to information.
