Fractal Launches Beta Version of BMC Health AI Chatbot on WhatsApp Powered By Vaidya.ai

The chatbot is designed as a multilingual service to provide Mumbai residents with health information and help them access information about civic healthcare facilities through a familiar messaging platform.

Fractal has launched the beta version of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Health AI Chatbot on WhatsApp, using its healthcare-focused AI model Vaidya.ai.

The chatbot is designed as a multilingual and multimodal service to provide Mumbai residents with health information and help them access information about civic healthcare facilities through a familiar messaging platform.

As part of the initiative, individuals can receive AI-generated, simplified summaries of laboratory reports in English, Marathi, and other select languages, helping them understand key findings and observed values in an easy-to-understand format.

In addition, it is also intended to help users identify nearby BMC healthcare facilities based on their healthcare needs and access health and wellness information through a conversational interface.

The initiative forms a part of a wider collaboration between Fractal and BMC aimed at assessing the use of AI across different areas of public healthcare. Beyond the citizen-facing chatbot, the pilot includes an AI-guided pre-consultation tool for doctors.

The system is designed to capture information such as a patient's chief complaint, self-reported medical history, and medication details before a consultation and generate structured summaries for doctors within the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS).

Another component is the Public Health Intelligence Dashboard intended to provide healthcare administrators with anonymized, aggregated insights from laboratory reports, enabling real-time visibility into emerging health trends across the city.

The pilot is being implemented across various BMC healthcare facilities, ranging from dispensaries to major hospitals, including KEM Hospital.

The organisations stated the initiative follows a privacy-focused architecture aligned with India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, with measures intended to support privacy, security and responsible use of healthcare data.

The model will integrate datasets starting with six places in Mumbai, including two large hospitals, to streamline citizen access to immediate healthcare information.

The initiative follows a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Fractal and BMC and reportedly represents the first component of a broader AI pilot being implemented across the municipal corporation’s public healthcare network.

As per reports, BMC's healthcare network handles more than 16.8 million OPD visits and generates over 3 million laboratory reports annually. The pilot aims to evaluate how AI can improve citizen access to healthcare information, support clinical workflows and strengthen public health decision-making at scale.

Speaking on the occasion, Ashwini Bhide, Municipal Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, said, "Mumbai's public healthcare system serves millions of citizens every year, making timely access to information and efficient clinical workflows critical. Vaidya.ai represents an important step in leveraging AI to strengthen healthcare delivery. As we evaluate this pilot across selected BMC facilities, our focus is on improving patient experience, supporting healthcare professionals, and enabling more informed public health decision-making, while ensuring that clinical decisions remain with qualified medical professionals.”

Separately, Fractal has been selected by the Government of India under the IndiaAI Mission to develop a reasoning model focused on healthcare.

The startup has developed Vaidya.ai, which Fractal describes as the world’s first AI model to score above 50 on OpenAI’s HealthBench (Hard) evaluation, surpassing the scores of GPT-5 and Gemini Pro 3. The model is designed with multilingual and multimodal capabilities, alongside a focus on Responsible AI principles.

Commenting on the latest collaboration, Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-founder, Group CEO and Vice Chairman, Fractal said, "This collaboration combines BMC's commitment to technology-led public healthcare with Fractal's experience in responsible AI. Beyond improving access to health information for citizens, the initiative demonstrates how AI can support clinicians and public health administrators with practical, scalable solutions that deliver real-world impact.”

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