One in four Americans now turn to AI tools for health advice
About 25% of U.S. adults have used ChatGPT or similar AI for healthcare decisions in the past month, according to a Gallup poll conducted in late 2025. The finding aligns with at least three other recent surveys showing similar patterns.
Tiffany Davis, 42, in Mesquite, Texas, consults ChatGPT before calling her doctor. "I'll just basically let ChatGPT know my status, how I'm feeling," she said. "I use it for anything that I'm experiencing."
Most people use AI tools to get quick answers or additional context before seeing a doctor. The Gallup survey found that about 7 in 10 adults who used AI for health research in the past month wanted immediate answers, extra information, or were curious. Majorities used it before or after medical appointments.
Why people turn to AI instead of doctors
Access barriers drive some of this behavior. About 4 in 10 respondents said they used AI because they needed help outside normal business hours. Roughly 3 in 10 wanted to avoid paying for a doctor's visit, while about 2 in 10 lacked time to schedule appointments or felt ignored by providers.
A KFF poll from late February found that younger adults and lower-income people were more likely to use AI tools because they couldn't afford professional care or faced access problems.
Rakesia Wilson, 39, in Theodore, Alabama, works up to 70-hour weeks as an assistant principal. She uses AI to decide whether an ailment requires a doctor's visit or just monitoring. "I just don't necessarily have the time if it's something that I feel is minor," she said.
People still see doctors, but trust in AI remains low
The rise of AI tools hasn't replaced traditional medical care. About 8 in 10 U.S. adults sought professional medical care for health information in the past year, compared to about 3 in 10 who used AI tools, according to the KFF poll.
Trust in AI-generated health information remains split. Only about one-third of people who recently used AI for health advice said they "strongly" or "somewhat" trust its accuracy. About 34% distrusted it, and 33% were neutral.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association, said he welcomes when patients arrive with better-informed questions from AI research. But he cautioned against treating AI as a substitute for doctors. "It is an assistant but not an expert, and that's why physicians need to be involved in that care," he said.
Privacy concerns loom large
About three-quarters of U.S. adults worry about the privacy of personal health information they share with AI tools. Most AI platforms offer settings to prevent data from training future models, but users must actively enable them.
Last summer, internet users discovered private ChatGPT conversations had been indexed on a public website without users' knowledge.
Tamara Ruppart, 47, a director in Los Angeles, avoids AI health advice entirely. With her family history of breast cancer, she consults doctors instead. "Health care is something that's pretty serious," she said. "And if it's wrong, you could really hurt yourself."
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