Patients Increasingly Seek Health Answers from AI

July 24, 2025

While primary care providers remain the most trusted, main source of health information, more and more people are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for answers, according to a new survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

The rise of AI has added an additional source of health data and recommendations, although whether it can be trusted is debatable. Google searches that include “AI Overviews” include disclaimers stating that their content is for informational purposes and to contact a health professional.

“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,” says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the center.

Among the study’s key takeaways:

• Survey says:  Conducted in April 2025 with more than 1,600 U.S. adults, the survey finds that nearly 8 in 10 adults say they’re likely to go online to answer a specific question about health symptoms or a health condition. Nearly two-thirds of this group say they have seen AI-generated responses.
• Lingering effects:  Until recently, governmental health authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were considered a solid secondary source of expert health information. However, confidence in those sources diminished with the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Results vary:  Almost 1 in 3 people (31%) who use an online search engine to find health information say the AI-generated summary response often or always gives them the answer they need while another 45 percent say it sometimes gives them the answer they need. Nearly two-thirds (63%) find AI-generated results to be somewhat or very reliable. Yet at the same time, almost half of U.S. adults (49%) say they are not comfortable with health care providers using AI tools rather than their experience alone when making decisions about their care.
• Communication breakdown:  When visiting their doctor or health care provider, few people who search for health information online (12%) say they always or often talk with their doctor or health care provider about health information they saw online. Two-fifths (40%) sometimes do and nearly half say they do so rarely (29%) or never (17%).
• Perception of reliability:  Most people who search for health information online say they find AI-generated health information to be reliable. Nearly two-thirds (63%) find the information to be reliable, with 55 percent saying the information is somewhat reliable and 8 percent saying it is very reliable. A quarter of online searchers (25%) say AI-generated health information is generally unreliable.

“AI platforms are not necessarily updated in real time and may contain outdated information. Skepticism is warranted,” said the center’s research analyst, Laura A. Gibson.

Read the report online.