Patient use of AI chatbots: The overlooked frontline of health care

Abstract

Development of tailored AI health care applications has become a major research focus in recent years, but relatively little research has addressed current patient use of general-purpose AI chatbots for health-related tasks. Today, many people use AI chatbots to seek information and advice, make diagnoses, and inform or even receive intervention. The appeal is clear, but the benefits and risks are less so. While we build AI tools for the future of medicine, we must also gather empirical evidence regarding use and impact of existing tools.