Polls show Americans increasingly turn to AI chatbots for health advice
Half of U.S. adults now use AI chatbots, and one in five users say they turn to them for medical advice as convenience collides with safety concerns.
Americans are increasingly treating AI chatbots as a first stop for health questions, drawn by speed, privacy and the promise of immediate answers, even as doctors and regulators warn that the tools can be wrong in convincing ways. Pew Research Center found that about half of U.S. adults now use chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot, up from 33% in 2024, and roughly one in four use them daily.
Health has become a major part of that growth. KFF found that 32% of adults had turned to AI chatbots in the past year for health information, with 29% seeking information about physical health and 16% about mental health. Among health-AI users, 65% said quick or immediate advice was a major reason, 41% said they wanted to look up information before deciding whether to see a provider, and 36% said they felt more comfortable asking privately. Cost and access also shaped behavior: 19% cited being unable to afford a visit, and 18% said they did not have a regular doctor or could not get an appointment.
The shift is especially pronounced among younger adults. KFF found that 28% of adults under 30 used AI for mental health information, compared with 8% of adults 50 and older. Younger users were also more likely to say they did not follow up with a doctor after asking AI about a health concern, underscoring how the technology can become a substitute for, rather than a supplement to, professional care.
Pew’s June 17, 2026 survey, based on 5,119 U.S. adults interviewed from Feb. 17-23, 2026, found that about half of adults now report using AI chatbots and that the tools are the technology most commonly associated with AI. Pew also said views of AI remain negative overall, even among younger adults, a sign that familiarity has not erased unease about how quickly the technology is advancing.
Public health institutions are urging caution. The World Health Organization has warned that large language models used in health raise safety and public-health concerns, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintains an AI-Enabled Medical Device List to improve transparency around AI-based medical devices authorized for sale in the United States. The FDA also held a Digital Health Advisory Committee meeting on Nov. 6, 2025, focused on generative AI-enabled digital mental health medical devices. The polling suggests AI is now part of the nation’s health-information routine, but the line between useful triage and dangerous substitution remains unsettled.
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