John Lynch Admits the 49ers are Using AI in Operations

Interesting.

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers play in Santa Clara, California, in a location surrounded by billion-dollar companies that have turned their attention to investing in AI.

Tech giants such as Apple, Google, Meta, and NVIDIA are all based in the Silicon Valley region, with the aim of helping to shape the future through major investments, research, and development in artificial intelligence.

AI remains a controversial topic for a variety of reasons, but John Lynch has publicly confirmed that the franchise does make use of it.

John Lynch explains how the 49ers are using AI

Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Lynch is emphasizing that artificial intelligence is quickly becoming essential across the NFL, and teams that fail to adopt it risk falling behind the competition.

He highlights how accessible AI tools have become, noting that users do not need deep expertise on certain subjects to gain value from them.

When asked in Monday's meeting with reports, Lynch shared more on his AI usage. “A lot. I think just like the rest of the world, if you aren’t using it, you’re already behind.

"The cool thing is, what we’ve found, you don’t need to be an expert. Just like you at home planning a travel itinerary. You can just ask the thing, and it can spit out some pretty good ideas.

"Our developers, I think we’re fortunate to be where we are kind of at the epicenter of the innovation there, and we’ve tried to take advantage of that. I do think every team is probably using it in some form or fashion and I think that will only increase as we move forward.”

While AI is more accessible than ever, it is well-known that it is not always fully reliable or accurate. Although the 49ers operate at the heart of a tech-driven region focused on improving efficiency, publicly leaning too heavily into AI could invite backlash, given its margin for error.

That said, it is also important to recognise that Lynch was likely offering a more corporate-style response rather than a definitive stance on the team’s internal processes.

His comments also reflect a broader league-wide trend of acknowledging emerging technology without fully revealing how it is applied behind the scenes.

Decisions should always rely on human judgment, whether it be contracts, draft selections, player tracking, or injury prevention. However, if AI is used, it should not act as a substitute, but rather as an additional tool to help support decision-making.