When Tiffany Davis has a question about a symptom from the weight-loss injections she’s taking, she doesn’t call her doctor. She pulls out her phone and consults ChatGPT. “I’ll just basically let ChatGPT know my status, how I’m feeling,” said the 42-year-old in Mesquite, Texas. “I use it for anything that I’m experiencing.” Turning to artificial intelligence tools for health advice has become a habit for Davis and many other Americans, according to a Gallup poll published Wednesday. The poll, conducted in late 2025 and backed up by at least three other recent surveys with similar findings, found that roughly one-quarter of US adults had used an AI tool for health information or advice in the past 30 days, reports the AP.
Dr. Karandeep Singh, chief health AI officer at UC San Diego Health, said AI tools, many of which now incorporate web search, are an upgraded version of Google health searches that Americans have been doing for decades. “I almost view it like a better entry portal into web search,” he said. “Instead of someone having to comb through the top, you know, 10, 20, 30 links in a web search, they can now have an executive summary.” Most Americans using AI tools for health purposes say they want immediate answers. In some cases, it helps them evaluate what kind of medical attention they need. “It’ll let me know if something’s serious or not,” Davis said of ChatGPT.
The Gallup survey found about 7 in 10 US adults who’ve used AI for health research in the past 30 days say they wanted quick answers or additional information, or were simply curious. Majorities used it for research before seeing a doctor or after an appointment. Rakesia Wilson, 39, in Theodore, Alabama, said she recently used AI to better understand her lab results after an endocrinologist visit. She also regularly uses ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to decide whether she needs to take time off for a doctor’s appointment or can simply monitor an ailment. “I just don’t necessarily have the time if it’s something that I feel is minor,” said Wilson.
On the whole, the findings suggest that the rise of AI tools hasn’t stopped people from seeking professional care:
About 8 in 10 US adults say they’ve sought out a health care professional for information in the past year, while about 3 in 10 say that about AI tools and chatbots, according to a KFF poll conducted in February. Similarly, a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October found that about 2 in 10 US adults say they get health information at least sometimes from AI chatbots, while about 85% said the same about health care providers. A small but significant share of Gallup respondents say they used AI because accessing health care was too expensive or inconvenient. About 4 in 10 wanted help outside of normal business hours, while about 3 in 10 didn’t want to pay for a doctor’s visit. Roughly 2 in 10 didn’t have time to make an appointment, had felt ignored or dismissed by a provider in the past, or were too embarrassed to talk to a person. About one-third of adults who’d recently used AI for health information said they “strongly” or “somewhat” trust its accuracy, per the Gallup poll. About 34% distrusted it, and another 33% neither trusted it nor distrusted it.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, the president of the American Medical Association, said he loves when patients have “more evolved questions” because they used AI for research. But he said AI should be considered a tool and not a stand-in for medical care. “It is an assistant but not an expert,” he said.