From Diagnoses to Treatments, Why Americans Use AI Chatbots for Health

More and more Americans are using AI chatbots, including turning to them for health information. These chatbot health users are motivated by a host of reasons, ranging from making diagnoses to learning about their lab results. And they generally find chatbot health information useful, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 3,488 U.S. adults conducted June 22-28, 2026. Building on the Center’s previous work on Americans’ health information sources, this report explores the “why” behind U.S. adults’ use of chatbots for health. This analysis also looks at how helpful chatbot health users find this information, and how comfortable they are sharing personal health information with a chatbot. Americans use chatbots for a host of health-related reasons, from helping make diagnoses on their own to learning more about information they may have gotten from a doctor.  In all, 34% of Americans ever use AI chatbots for at least one of the eight health and medical reasons we asked about. We refer to this share as chatbot health users. Nearly all of these users cite multiple reasons for using these tools for health. About three-in-ten U.S. adults (28%) say getting health information quickly is a motivation for using chatbots. This aligns with previous Center research showing that convenience is a factor chatbot health users rate highly. Other reasons have to do with figuring out what’s causing symptoms or better understanding medical information they may have gotten elsewhere. This includes understanding lab results and learning more about treatments or a doctor’s diagnosis. These motivations were cited by 20% to 25% of Americans. A similar share (22%) say they turn to chatbots because they are low-cost or free. Other reasons they use chatbots for health are to help decide whether to see a doctor (15%) or to get health information they’re uncomfortable talking about (18%).