NIH Scales Up AI Work as Teams Get Leaner

The National Institutes of Health is expanding its artificial intelligence pilots, even as its workforce shrinks and offices reorganize across the Department of Health and Human Services. NIH’s headcount fell to about 17,000 in early 2026, down more than 4,000 from a year earlier, after reductions in force and probationary firings, according to agency figures cited in federal data. At the same time, the number of documented NIH AI use cases climbed to 124 in fiscal 2025 from 82 in 2024. Officials pointed to GSA OneGov agreements that sped up access to approved tools, supporting work across grants analysis, research workflows, lab tasks, and clinical assistance. NIH also is building disease-focused small language models and plans to broaden successful pilots.  

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