Despite artificial intelligence becoming an increasing source of health information, 85% of U.S. adults still get information from providers “at least sometimes," a new survey finds.
Researchers at the Pew Research Center surveyed 5,111 U.S. adults from Oct. 20 to Oct. 26 for the report. Aside from providers, researchers identified six other main sources of health information:
- People with similar health issues: 66%
- Major health information websites: 60%
- News organizations: 46%
- Government health agencies: 45%
- Social media: 36%
- AI chatbots: 22%
Healthcare providers received the best ratings for the quality of the information provided, with 55% of respondents saying information is easy to understand, 52% saying it is personalized and 49% saying it is convenient to obtain.
Seventy-three percent of respondents reported using three or more of the specified sources. Researchers note factors like insurance coverage, education and age influence the sources patients seek out—and how they view the accuracy of such information.
About two-thirds (65%) of those who ever get health information from providers say the information is extremely or very accurate. Conversely, social media was viewed as the least reliable source of information, with only 7% of respondents viewing it as “extremely/very” accurate.
Researchers noted there is “a lot of overlap” between respondents seeking out health information on social media and via AI chatbots, with 61% using both.
The convenience of obtaining information using these sources ranked highly among respondents. Forty percent said using social media is “extremely/very” convenient for getting information, and 48% said the same about using AI chatbots.
Respondents also had mixed experiences judging the accuracy of health information, regardless of the source, with half of respondents saying it is at least somewhat difficult to determine accuracy. Moreover, 76% of respondents said they see conflicting information at least sometimes and 54% have difficulty knowing which to trust.