Polls show consumers know AI in healthcare is more convenient than accurate

Two recent reports on consumer use of artificial intelligence tools for healthcare paint a sobering picture. People generally believe AI is more convenient than accurate, but they use it anyway because they otherwise report cost, access, and care quality concerns.  

Polls cited in the two reports – one from the Pew Research Center, the other from West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America – found 22% and 25% of Americans use AI chatbots as a source of information, respectively. (It’s worth noting both polls occurred in late 2025, prior to the surge of consumer AI tools for healthcare released in early 2026. More recent data from KFF found 32% of adults use AI chatbots in search of health information.) 

After using AI, 1 in 7 patients avoided a clinical visit

Though dated, the polls shed important light on why people turn to AI. Most users want to research health conditions, West Health-Gallup found, whether it’s because they have a doctor’s appointment scheduled or otherwise want to know more. 

Other use cases show that people see AI’s potential to break down common barriers to getting care. Among those surveyed: 

• 42% wanted help outside normal business hours 

• 27% didn’t want to pay for a doctor’s appointment   

• 21% didn’t have time to make an appointment 

• 21% had felt dismissed or ignored by a provider in the past 

• 18% were too embarrassed to talk to a person 

All told, 14% of AI users said the information or advice they received led them to avoid visiting a provider. That’s one in seven patients – the equivalent of one day’s worth of revenue for the entire week – not walking through the door. It should be a clear warning sign to hospitals, health systems, and medical practices that would-be patients are happily finding technology-driven alternatives to brick-and-mortar services.  

A matter of convenience, not necessarily trust

It largely comes down to access. According to Pew, 48% of AI users view the tools as convenient to use, and 41% say the information they get is easy to understand. That’s another warning shot for providers with long call center wait times, few openings on the schedule, and complex patient portal workflows. 

At the same time, just 18% of users told Pew they believe the outputs from AI tools are highly accurate. A mere 4% of West Health-Gallup respondents said they “strongly trust” the health advice from AI, and another 29% “somewhat trust” it. These figures come on the heels of additional research showing enthusiasm for AI tools is waning, even among the most engaged users. 

Converting consumers to patients

While this is bad news for AI tools, it could be good news for providers. Pew found that 65% of consumers believe information from providers is highly accurate; for health-related websites, the figure is 48%.  

How can organizations capitalize on their accuracy and trust advantages before AI tools further cut into visit volume? The collective poll findings suggest content from trusted sources that’s optimized for AI search could garner consumers’ attention as they query AI tools. 

That content cannot stand alone, though. Many consumers use AI largely to learn, but others could be motivated to engage with the health system if they have specific clinical needs. Calls to action such as the ability to book an appointment, send a message to the care team, take steps to enroll in a clinical trial, or simply explore other owned resources will help keep the consumer on a provider’s site – and could convert them to a patient. 

Brian Eastwood is a Boston-based writer with more than 10 years of experience covering healthcare IT and healthcare delivery. He also writes about enterprise IT, consumer technology, and corporate leadership.