AI is uncannily good at diagnosis. Its makers just won’t say so.

More than 230 million people ask ChatGPT health-related questions every week, according to OpenAI. While people have been plugging their health anxieties into the internet since its earliest days, what’s changed now is the interface: instead of scrolling through endless search results, you can now have what feels like a personal conversation. Two of the biggest AI companies went all-in on that reality.OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health. Just days later, Anthropic announced a similar consumer-facing tool for Claude, alongside a host of others geared toward health care professionals and researchers. Both consumer-facing AI tools come with disclaimers—not intended for diagnosis, consult a professional—that are likely crafted for liability reasons. But those warnings won’t stop the hundreds of millions already using chatbots to understand their symptoms. However, it’s possible that these companies have it backward: AI excels at diagnosis; several studies show it’s one of the best use cases for the technology. And there are real trade-offs—around data privacy and AI’s tendency to people-please—that are worth understanding before you connect your medical records to a chatbot.