Turning to AI for Health Advice? Why a New Survey Has Doctors Worried

It shouldn't come as a surprise that more and more people are turning to artificial intelligence when they have health questions. But, new data shows a big chunk of those people aren’t taking the next step and checking in with an actual doctor.

What the Research Says

On Wednesday, March 25, KFF--an independent source for health policy research, polling, and news--released results from a new poll looking at how people are using AI chatbots for health advice. The survey included 1,343 adults, and about one in three said they’ve used AI to get medical guidance, whether for physical issues or mental health concerns.

According to the findings, around 42% of those people never actually followed up with a doctor or healthcare provider after asking AI about a physical issue. When it came to mental health, that number was even higher, with around 58% saying they didn’t check in with a mental health professional.

The data also showed that younger adults--specifically those between 18 and 29--are less likely to follow up with a provider across the board. Young people are also about three times more likely to use AI chatbots for mental health advice compared to those 50 and older.

A Lot Of People Still Don't Trust AI

Even with AI becoming more popular for health-related questions, a lot of people are still unsure about trusting it. According to this same study, more than 80% of adults who haven’t used AI for health advice said they don’t trust it much or at all.

Overall, 67% of respondents said they had concerns about using AI for physical health questions, and that number jumped to 77% when it came to mental health.

Experts have been raising red flags about relying on AI for medical advice, mainly because of the risk of misinformation and the chance that people might skip getting proper care.

"The core problem is that LLMs don't fail the way doctors fail," Dr. Mahmud Omar told Live Science. "A doctor who's unsure will pause, hedge, order another test. An LLM delivers the wrong answer with the exact same confidence as the right one."

Marvin Kopka also pointed out that while AI chatbots can sometimes offer solid recommendations, people without medical training have "no way to judge whether the output they get is correct or not."

Mental Health Is Also at Risk

When it comes to mental health, experts say there are even more risks. Leanna Fortunato and psychotherapist and lifestyle coach Esin Pinarli both told CNBC that relying on AI can be dangerous in certain situations.

“We’ve seen some really high-profile harms, particularly for youth or vulnerable groups who might be in crisis, where AI didn’t handle the situation correctly,” Fortunato said. “It continued to engage with people who were in crisis. It didn’t provide crisis resources. It didn’t challenge a pattern of thinking that was problematic.”

“You need another person with another nervous system across from you in order to pay attention to body language, to tone of voice,” added Pinarli. AI chatbots are “not going to challenge you emotionally, and they don’t require reciprocity.”