Exclusive: 40 million people turn to ChatGPT for health care
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More than 40 million people globally turn to ChatGPT daily for health information, according to a report OpenAI has shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: Americans are turning to AI tools to navigate the notoriously complex and opaque U.S. health care system.
The big picture: Patients see ChatGPT as an "ally" in navigating their health care, according to analysis of anonymized interactions with ChatGPT and a survey of ChatGPT users by the AI-powered tool Knit.
- Users turn to ChatGPT to decode medical bills, spot overcharges, appeal insurance denials, and when access to doctors is limited, some even use it to self-diagnose or manage their care.
By the numbers: More than 5% of all ChatGPT messages globally are about health care.
- OpenAI found that users ask 1.6 to 1.9 million health insurance questions per week for guidance comparing plans, handling claims and billing and other coverage queries.
- In underserved rural communities, OpenAI says users send an average of nearly 600,000 health care-related messages every week.
- Seven in 10 health care conversations in ChatGPT happen outside of normal clinic hours.
Zoom in: Patients can enter symptoms, prior advice from doctors, and context around their health care issues and ChatGPT can deliver warnings on the severity of certain conditions.
- When care isn't available, this can help patients decide if they should wait for appointments or if they need to seek emergency care.
- "Reliability improves when answers are grounded in the right patient-specific context such as insurance plan documents, clinical instructions, and health care portal data," OpenAI says in the report.
Reality check: ChatGPT can give wrong and potentially dangerous advice, especially in conversations around mental health.
- OpenAI currently faces multiple lawsuits from people who say loved ones harmed or killed themselves after interacting with the technology.
- States have enacted new laws focused on use of AI-enabled chatbots, banning apps or services from offering mental health and therapeutic decision-making.
The intrigue: Multiple viral stories highlight how people have uploaded itemized bills to AI for analysis, uncovering errors like duplicate charges, improper coding, or violations of Medicare rules.
Behind the scenes: OpenAI says it's working to strengthen how ChatGPT responds in health contexts.
- The company is continuing to evaluate models to reduce harmful or misleading responses, and work with clinicians to identify risks and improve.
- GPT-5 models are more likely to ask follow-up questions from the user, browse the internet for the latest research, use hedging language, and direct users to professional evaluation when needed, per the company.
💠Our thought bubble: The end of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies could accelerate this quiet shift as uninsured and underinsured patients lean on chatbots for health care guidance.
What we're watching: How accuracy, liability, and access to patient data evolve as more Americans rely on AI for medical guidance without a doctor in the loop.
Editor's note: This headline and story were corrected to note that 40 million people get health information from ChatGPT globally (not just Americans).
