Public health plays an important role in the broader health system by promoting and protecting citizens’ health, often under challenging circumstances, including declining trust, limited resources and complex information ecosystems. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) offers potential opportunities for public health to tailor health information to diverse populations at scale, a current challenge of public health programs and service delivery. Clear governance frameworks and transparent organizational public health policies prioritizing ethical principles, such as protecting autonomy, promoting trust and ensuring benevolence, are required because of critical gaps in the governance of generative AI. Effective use of generative AI in public health requires training, meaningful human oversight and collaboration across disciplines and diverse communities with adequate resourcing to support this in practice. Sustainable practices should balance environmental impacts with the technology’s potential for improving health outcomes.
