Americans hesitant about AI in medicine even as chatbot use rises

Pew Research Center data indicate that although roughly a third of Americans have used AI chatbots for medical purposes and most of those users find them helpful, a large majority remain wary of AI’s presence in healthcare. More than seven in ten respondents consider it crucial for doctors to tell patients when AI is involved, but just 22% say they understand how it is applied, and nearly half are unsure whether it has been used at all.

Tim Curry, a public-health lecturer, notes that AI in medicine extends far beyond generative models like ChatGPT, encompassing long-standing machine-learning tools. Jyoti Pathak argues that patients have a right to know when AI influences their care and calls for strict FDA oversight, clinical validation, and clear disclosure. Both experts emphasize education and consent as key to building trust, especially as AI expands from administrative tasks to diagnostic algorithms. The poll also finds younger adults (18-29) are the most likely to rely on chatbots, driven in part by rising medical costs and lower insurance coverage.