The AI-educated patient

Abstract

Patients increasingly consult generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools before and after clinical encounters. We argue this represents a qualitative shift beyond the “Dr. Google” era: large language models (LLMs) synthesise information into coherent, guideline-framed narratives that may raise the baseline knowledge patients bring to consultations. We introduce the concept of the “AI-educated patient” and a related conceptual framework, “soft accountability”, describing the informal pressure that may arise when well-informed patients enter consultations with structured expectations. We discuss potential mechanisms by which AI-mediated patient education could influence clinician behaviour, while framing these explicitly as hypotheses awaiting empirical testing. Substantial risks remain, including hallucinations, false patient confidence, inequities in AI access and literacy, clinician workload implications, and privacy concerns. The opportunity and challenge is to harness this shift equitably for both sides of the clinical relationship.