Pfizer AI Strategy: AI Fluency for Everyone, Accountability for Every Leader

Pfizer treats AI as a change in how the company works, not as a technology choice. It has put AI fluency training in front of nearly every colleague and made leaders accountable for changing how their teams work. AI is also part of a cost program, during which headcount fell from about 88,000 in 2023 to about 75,000 in 2025. The AI results Pfizer has published so far are few.

AI is a top-level priority. “Scale AI across our business” is one of Pfizer’s five priorities for 2026 (2025 annual report). In February 2026, CEO Albert Bourla described “scaling artificial intelligence across R&D, manufacturing, commercial and patient engagement,” built on “AI-ready data, agentic workflows and compute capacity” (Q4 2025 earnings remarks).

The problem is inertia, not technology. In a September 2026 essay, How Pfizer Thinks About AI, Pfizer separates adopting AI from AI transformation. It argues that what holds companies back is inertia, not the choice of platform. The essay sets out three moves:

• structure the data: 177 years of research records, because “AI is only as good as the data behind it”
• federate AI: a central team supplies platforms, data and compute, while business leaders own the change
• invest in fluency: AI literacy for every role, certified

The long-range ambition is bold. The essay aims to cut development timelines “from years to months” within a decade. It also notes that “no medicine designed primarily by AI has been approved for patients.”

The focus spans the business. Pfizer uses AI across:

• R&D: target validation, and molecule and biomarker selection
• safety: GENESIS, a new platform that automates safety monitoring for more than 600 products in over 120 countries (November 2026)
• manufacturing: supply planning and production efficiency
• commercial: launch insights and targeting, plus Charlie, its generative AI marketing platform
• patients and consumers: Health Answers by Pfizer, a generative AI health information service

Pfizer has not said what it will not prioritize.

Leaders own the change. The essay is explicit: “our leaders across the enterprise own the accountability to change how their teams work.” Bourla names the barrier as “organizational ability to adjust and transform itself through AI” (Pfizer). That is the core of AI change management.

AI fluency is a goal for every colleague:

• Pfizer AI Academy offers training and certifications at every level.
• An AI Fluency Development Goal sits alongside each colleague’s yearly performance goals.
• The foundational course was built with Indiana University and opened to the whole company in June 2026.
• By September 2026, 98% of colleagues had taken the first course, and Pfizer plans to certify all eligible colleagues in foundational AI fluency this year. That makes it one of the clearest examples of an AI certification used as a company-wide floor.
• Bourla took the course himself: “I saw huge difference in my ability.”

AI leadership turned over in 2026:

• Jeremy Forman became Chief AI, Data and Analytics Officer in February 2026. He is hiring a head of an AI center of excellence and a chief AI architect (AIM Media House).
• Dennis Hancock became Chief Information Officer and EVP, leading enterprise digital, AI and technology strategy (Pfizer). He previously oversaw AI fluency as head of digital.
• Lidia Fonseca, Chief Digital and Technology Officer since 2019, left that executive role in April 2026 and now advises the CEO (ManpowerGroup).

Compute is growing. Pfizer is expanding to more than 1,200 GPUs, mostly for R&D (February 2026).

Experimentation is organized. Pfizer’s second AI Festival in October 2025 ran 54 sessions in seven countries, including Copilot workshops and labs on building agents without code.

Marketing has its own platform. Charlie launched in February 2024. It was built with Publicis on Publicis’ Marcel platform and uses a custom version of ChatGPT. Hundreds of central marketers and thousands across brands use it, and the goal was to “triple [or] 5x our content creation” (Digiday).

AI sits inside a cost program:

• In April 2025, Pfizer added $1.2 billion of savings by the end of 2027, driven largely by “enhanced digital enablement,” which includes AI and automation (CNBC).
• Its programs target $7.2 billion of net savings by the end of 2026, and a further $2.5 billion from 2027 to 2029 (November 2026).
• Headcount fell from about 88,000 (2023) to about 75,000 (2025).
• Pfizer has not said how much of that reduction comes from AI.

Governance is principle-led. Pfizer publishes three responsible AI principles:

• support human decision-making and fairness
• protect privacy and be open about AI use
• accept responsibility for the AI systems you own

A digital system reviews algorithms for bias, and AI sits among the board’s enterprise risk topics (2026 proxy). Pfizer has not published a review body or process detail.

AI fluency, coded against the Lead with AI Fluency Matrix (September 2026 edition):

• Fluency floor: Level 1 (Chatting), backed by training. 98% of colleagues have taken the first course, and every colleague has a fluency goal. This is the most complete training floor in the index so far. Course completion shows exposure, not daily use, and Pfizer has published no usage data.
• Highest level evidenced: Level 3 (Integrating), company-claimed. Charlie builds generative AI into marketing content workflows with review steps, GENESIS automates safety-monitoring admin, and Pfizer claims up to 80% time savings on some automated workflows. Agentic workflows are named, but no results have been published, so Level 4 is not evidenced.
• Portfolio design: Broad base, federated delivery. Every colleague trains, business leaders own adoption, and a central team builds platforms. No role-specific targets have been published.

Pfizer measures AI mostly through its cost programs. All figures below are company-claimed:

• $1.2 billion of savings by the end of 2027, driven largely by digital enablement, including AI and automation (April 2025)
• up to 80% time savings from automating some process-heavy workflows (October 2025)
• $7.2 billion of net savings by the end of 2026 across all programs, which is not AI-specific

The success test is real-world. By its own standard, no medicine designed primarily by AI has yet been approved.

Three things are missing: a separate figure for AI’s share of savings, usage data beyond course completion, and AI targets. Several widely quoted Pfizer AI figures date from 2023 and have not been updated.

Change log

• November 2023: Pfizer estimates $750 million to $1 billion a year in savings from its priority generative AI uses (AWS re:Invent).
• December 2023: Pfizer publishes its AI policy position.
• February 2024: Charlie launches with Publicis.
• August 2024: Berta Rodriguez-Hervas joins as Chief AI and Analytics Officer.
• April 2025: Pfizer adds $1.2 billion of savings by 2027, driven largely by digital enablement, AI and automation.
• October 2025: Pfizer holds its second AI Festival.
• February 2026: Forman becomes Chief AI, Data and Analytics Officer, and Pfizer sets out its plan to scale AI and expand to more than 1,200 GPUs.
• April 2026: Fonseca leaves the executive team and becomes an adviser to the CEO.
• June 2026: AI fluency certification opens company-wide.
• July 2026: Hancock is named CIO and EVP.
• September 2026: Pfizer publishes its essay, and 98% of colleagues have taken the first fluency course.
• November 2026: Third-quarter results introduce GENESIS and $2.5 billion more savings for 2027 to 2029.

• Disclosure: 3 of 4. Pfizer answers questions 01, 02 and 03. It answers 04 only in part, because AI value is folded into wider cost programs.
• It has the most complete training floor in the index: near-universal training, a fluency goal for every colleague, and a CEO who took the course.
• Leaders own the change. The federated model makes adoption a line responsibility, not an IT project.
• The numbers show a smaller company. Since 2023, headcount is down 15% while revenue rose 5%, lifting revenue per employee 23%. Pfizer credits digital enablement, AI and automation for part of its savings, but has not separated AI’s share.
• AI leadership turned over in 2026, with a new CIO, a new Chief AI, Data and Analytics Officer and a longtime digital chief stepping back.
• The say-do gap is fluency versus outcomes. Training is near-universal, but AI results are buried in cost programs.
• Watch certification and the 2027 guidance. The test is whether Pfizer reports AI’s share of savings and real usage, not only course completion.

What the numbers show: Revenue fell 38% from its 2022 COVID-19 peak. Since 2023, revenue is up 5% while headcount is down 15%, lifting revenue per employee 23%. Pfizer credits digital enablement, AI and automation for part of its cost savings, but has not said how much of the headcount reduction comes from AI.

Revenue, headcount and revenue per employee, FY2022 to FY2025

• FY2022: $101.2bn revenue, 83,000 employees, $1.22M per employee
• FY2023: $59.55bn revenue, 88,000 employees, $677k per employee
• FY2024: $63.63bn revenue, 81,000 employees, $786k per employee
• FY2025: $62.58bn revenue, 75,000 employees, $834k per employee

Change, FY2022 to FY2025: revenue down 38%, headcount down 10%, revenue per employee down 32%.

Notes: Revenue is total revenues, as reported. Headcount is approximate, at year-end. 2022 was the peak year for COVID-19 products (Comirnaty and Paxlovid). Revenue is as restated in later 10-K filings.

These figures give context on scale and productivity. They do not show that AI caused any change. Sources: Pfizer 10-K filings and 2026 proxy statement.

What is Pfizer’s AI strategy?

Pfizer aims to scale AI across R&D, manufacturing, commercial work and patient engagement. It treats AI as an organizational change: structured data, AI capabilities spread across the business, and AI fluency training for every colleague.

‍

Who leads AI at Pfizer?

Dennis Hancock, Chief Information Officer and EVP, leads Pfizer’s digital, AI and technology strategy. Jeremy Forman has been Chief AI, Data and Analytics Officer since February 2026. CEO Albert Bourla made scaling AI a 2026 priority.

‍

How does Pfizer build AI fluency?

Every colleague has an AI Fluency Development Goal and access to Pfizer AI Academy. By September 2026, 98% had taken the first course, and Pfizer plans to certify all eligible colleagues in foundational AI fluency in 2026.

‍

Is Pfizer cutting jobs because of AI?

Headcount fell from about 88,000 in 2023 to about 75,000 in 2025, during cost programs targeting $7.2 billion of net savings by the end of 2026. Pfizer says digital enablement, AI and automation drive part of those savings, but it has not attributed specific job cuts to AI.

‍

How is this profile put together?

Lead with AI profiles use public sources only, such as annual reports, earnings materials, filings and on-record interviews, dated at the time of writing. AI fluency is coded against the Lead with AI Fluency Matrix. Company figures are marked as company-claimed unless they have been independently verified.