Dive Brief:
- Americans are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for health information, but many users don’t see the responses as highly accurate, according to a survey published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.
- More than 20% of respondents said they at least sometimes use AI chatbots for health questions, including 7% who turn to AI for health information often or extremely often, according to the poll.
- But only 18% rated the chatbots as extremely or very accurate. Still, nearly half said the tools were very convenient to use, and more than 40% said AI chatbots provided information that was easy to understand.
Dive Insight:
AI isn’t a major source of health information compared to other common resources, like providers or dedicated health websites, according to the survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults conducted in the fall.
Eighty-five percent reported they at least sometimes receive health information from their providers, including more than half that said they often or extremely often turn to their doctors or other clinicians. Additionally, 66% said they turn to other people with the same health issue, and 60% looked to major health information websites, like WebMD.
But technology companies have recently targeted healthcare as a key use case for AI, with firms like OpenAI, Amazon and Microsoft rolling out their own dedicated health AI chatbots. The tools, which often allow users to connect their own health data, should help consumers more easily find insights into their health and navigate the notoriously complex healthcare system, the companies say.
But some researchers and experts worry the chatbots could provide inaccurate or misleading advice, potentially resulting in harm to patients. That’s a concern for users too, according to the Pew poll released this week.
AI users don’t rate chatbots’ health information as highly accurate
Only 18% rated the information they received from AI chatbots as very or extremely accurate, compared with 65% of respondents who got health information from providers and nearly half who turned to major health websites. Twenty-three percent of AI users said the information they received was not too or not at all accurate.
Heavy AI users were more likely to positively rate AI chatbots on accuracy. For example, 45% of those that use AI tools often or extremely often said the information was highly accurate, compared with 13% of respondents who use chatbots sometimes or rarely.
Some groups are more likely to use AI for health information, like younger adults, according to the poll. About a third of adults ages 18 to 29 at least sometimes turned to chatbots, compared with 16% of adults ages 50 to 64.
Additionally, uninsured Americans use AI chatbots more often, even when accounting for age, income and other factors, Pew found. Eleven percent of respondents without health insurance said they often or extremely often used AI for health information, compared with 7% of those with insurance.
