Most Americans trust AI-generated health information, study says

Americans are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for answers to health questions — and most say they find those AI-generated responses useful and reliable. When it comes to physicians using the same tools during care, many remain uneasy.

In a new national survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, nearly 80% of U.S. adults said they’re likely to look online for the answer to a question about a health system or condition. Of those, roughly two-thirds said they’d come across AI-generated summaries at the top of the results on search engines — like Google’s “AI Overview” or Bing’s “Copilot Answer.”

The trust is there, too. Sixty-three percent of those who’ve seen AI answers said they found them at least somewhat reliable. Eight percent of them found the AI answers to be “very reliable.”

“Despite the disclaimers that accompany some AI-generated summaries, there is potential for confusion and even harm among vulnerable individuals if they are not aware that these responses are not a substitute for the personalized expert health guidance that their health care provider can offer,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

AI in search vs. AI in care

Although many Americans seem comfortable letting AI answer their health questions online, they’re far more hesitant about it playing a role in actual care. Nearly half of respondents (49%) said they don’t feel comfortable with physicians using AI tools instead of relying solely on their clinical experience.

Only 36% said they were comfortable with physicians using AI in clinical decisions.

Laura A. Gibson, a research specialist at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, noted that AI platforms aren’t necessarily updated in real time and may contain outdated information, so “skepticism is warranted.”

Interestingly, 41% of respondents believe their physician already uses AI sometimes, often or always. A third of respondents said they weren’t sure.

People say AI often gets it right — but they still fact check

Among people who saw AI summaries in their searches, 31% said those answers “often” or “always” gave them the information they needed. Another 45% said AI “sometimes” delivered the correct info.

Still, most didn’t stop there. Nearly two-thirds (65%) said they usually click through to trusted websites for more details. Notably, age seems to play a role in exposure. Three-quarters (75%) of people ages 35 to 49 said they’ve seen AI health summaries, but that drops to 49% for those 65 and older.

Physicians still lead on trust

Even with the rise of AI, primary care physicians are still the most trusted source of health information for many Americans. In fact, 90% of people surveyed in April said they have confidence in their physicians. That’s well ahead of government health authorities like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), confidence in which ranges from 66% to 68% as of April.

Even so, relatively few patients bring up what they’ve read online during primary care visits. Only 12% said they “always” or “often” discuss online health information with their physician. Nearly half said they “rarely” or “never” do.

About one-third of respondents said there wasn’t enough time in appointments to go over online info. Meanwhile, 22% feel their physician tends to dismiss it outright. Another 37% disagreed with that sentiment.

Most patients have smart devices, but not everyone shares the data

Ninety-three percent of surveyed adults said they own a smartphone or smartwatch, and more than half of those device owners use health apps that track steps, sleep or heart rate.

Still, only 3% currently share that information with their physicians. About 52% said they’d be likely to in the future, but more than a third said they wouldn’t. Pharmacy alerts, on the other hand, are a different story. Eighty percent said they either already receive refill reminders or would sign up for them in the future.