-Incredible Health, the largest AI company powering healthcare hiring, today released its 2026 Executive Report: AI and the Future of the Healthcare Workforce. Drawing on insights from hundreds of healthcare executive leaders and proprietary data from more than 1,500 US healthcare employers and 1.5 million US healthcare workers on the Incredible Health marketplace, the report identifies a widening gap between ambition and execution.
The report’s central finding: healthcare leaders are aligned on their priorities, but execution is lagging. More than half of leaders say AI will be critical to their team’s success this year, and 47% plan to increase AI spending in 2026. Yet 76% say their organizations are not prepared to implement AI at the speed required, citing change management challenges, unclear ownership, and inconsistent role-based adoption.
Key findings from the 2026 Executive Report include:
AI investment is not reaching the frontlines. While employer spending on AI is growing, 70% of healthcare workers are not using AI tools in their daily workflows today. At the same time, 80% of healthcare workers say they want more training in how to use AI, a clear signal that the appetite for AI far outpaces access to it.
Recruitment teams are overwhelmed and underequipped. Only 16% of healthcare hiring teams currently use AI in their workflows. Managing an average of 70 open roles per recruiter at once, most teams are only able to have a live conversation with 10% of applicants. The remaining 90% do not speak with anyone. The share of candidates passing initial screens has also declined year over year, falling from 34% to 29%.
Workforce capacity is not keeping pace with hiring demand. Over the past 12 months, 55% of recruitment teams stayed the same size and 21% shrank, while hiring demand continued to rise. 33% of employers report that at least a quarter of their nursing workforce is within 5 years of retirement.
Retention has emerged as the defining workforce priority. 67% of healthcare leaders cite retention as their top priority for 2026. In a tight labor market, retention and recruitment are deeply interconnected: organizations that struggle to hold onto talent face constant pressure to rehire, driving up costs and compounding strain on existing teams.
The hiring experience is now a strategic differentiator. 42% of leaders rank improving the candidate experience as a top priority. Employers are increasingly treating every touchpoint in the hiring experience as a direct expression of their employer brand, culture, and long-term retention strategy.
“Healthcare organizations have never been more committed to AI as a strategic priority, and the data shows exactly where the system is stalling,” said Iman Abuzeid, MD, CEO and co-founder of Incredible Health. “The challenge in 2026 is scalable AI execution. Our goal with this report is to give healthcare leaders a clear, actionable picture of where the gaps are and what it will take to close them.”
The report outlines 4 areas where healthcare leaders can act now: 1) implementing AI with a phased, execution-led approach tied to measurable outcomes; 2) building retention-first workforce strategies through flexible scheduling, career pathways, and manageable workloads; 3) protecting recruiter capacity as hiring demand climbs; and 4) delivering a modern, candidate-friendly hiring experience that builds trust from the first interaction.
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