Burson launches healthcare-focused AI service

Burson has launched a healthcare-focused AI service called Decipher Health. 

The offering is designed to optimize communications and stakeholder engagement across the patient, advocate, healthcare provider, health decision maker and analyst communities, according to a Burson statement. 

As part of WPP Open, Decipher Health will be available to all WPP healthcare clients. It has trained AI models on a spectrum of disease areas, including general health, oncology, neurology, diabetes, respiratory and sexual health. Decipher Health integrates predictive believability and virality indicators, helping clients forecast the impact of content across healthcare-focused audience segments based on observable and repeatable data, the firm said. 

WPP Open is the holding company’s AI-powered marketing operating system.  

Decipher Health will also track the impact of global macro-themes that can affect the healthcare system, including the economy, drug costs, pricing, access, supply chain, DEI, sustainability, elections, reproductive rights, women’s health and armed conflict. 

Decipher Health was developed by Burson’s innovation team led by chief innovation officer Chad Latz and will be overseen by Brenna Terry, global chair of healthcare, and Vicky Lewko, global head of digital health.

Burson created Decipher Health with AI company Limbik.

Burson was formed in June through the merger of WPP firms BCW and Hill & Knowlton. 

In July 2023, BCW inked an exclusive global partnership with Limbik. The partnership’s first offering, BCW Decipher powered by Limbik, targets disinformation to help clients determine believability and virality. In November, BCW and Limbik launched the Decipher Index to predict impactful trends. 

Burson sits within WPP’s PR division, which posted revenue growth of 1.5% on a like-for-like basis in Q2, but saw a revenue decline of 0.9% in the first half of the year.