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Generative AI Leader Practice Question: A healthcare startup needs to deploy an AI model…
A healthcare startup needs to deploy an AI model that processes protected health information (PHI). They require a HIPAA BAA with the cloud provider. Which Google Cloud AI service can meet this compliance requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is assuming any Google AI service is automatically HIPAA-eligible — the exam tests whether you know that BAA coverage is service-specific and that Vertex AI is the enterprise platform covered for PHI workloads.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Vertex AI
Vertex AI is Google Cloud's enterprise ML platform covered under the Google Cloud HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA), making it suitable for workloads that process protected health information. Customers can request a BAA through their Google Cloud account, and Vertex AI's training, prediction, and pipeline services fall under that coverage. This makes it the compliant choice for deploying an AI model handling PHI.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Colab
Why it's wrong here
Colab is a hosted notebook environment for experimentation, not a BAA-covered production AI service, so PHI cannot be processed there. It tempts because it provides free GPU access for prototyping models, which suits learning and research rather than regulated clinical deployment.
- ✗
Gemini API via Google AI Studio
Why it's wrong here
Google AI Studio's Gemini API is a developer prototyping surface that is not covered by a HIPAA BAA, so PHI cannot lawfully be processed there. It tempts because it offers quick, free access to Gemini models, which suits experimentation and non-regulated workloads rather than production healthcare data.
- ✓
Vertex AI
Why this is correct
Vertex AI is covered under Google Cloud's HIPAA Business Associate Agreement, permitting processing of protected health information when configured appropriately. This satisfies the stem's requirement for a BAA-backed AI service, unlike consumer-tier tools excluded from the BAA scope.
- ✗
Cloud Vision API
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Vision API is a pre-trained perception service for images, not a generative model deployment path, and its PHI handling under a BAA does not fit this scenario's model-hosting requirement. It tempts when the task is label detection or OCR on medical imagery.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
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