ChatGPT is rapidly emerging as a new waypoint in the patient journey, with millions of Americans using the generative AI tool to research symptoms, prepare for appointments, navigate insurance and seek answers when providers are unavailable.
More than 40 million people in the U.S. now use ChatGPT daily for healthcare-related questions, according to a new OpenAI report shared with Becker’s. Healthcare prompts account for more than 5% of all messages on the platform globally, with one in four users submitting a health-related question each week.
The data suggests patients are increasingly turning to AI as the healthcare system grows more complex and harder to access. In the U.S., 1.6 million to 1.9 million ChatGPT messages each week focus on insurance issues such as billing, claims and plan comparisons, OpenAI reported.
Much of that activity occurs outside the clinic. Seven in 10 healthcare conversations on ChatGPT happen after hours, pointing to demand for real-time guidance when physicians’ offices are closed.
Use is especially pronounced in rural and underserved areas. Users in rural communities send nearly 600,000 healthcare-related messages each week, while areas more than 30 minutes from a hospital averaged more than 580,000 messages weekly during a four-week period in late 2025. Wyoming, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota and Vermont ranked highest for healthcare-related messages originating from hospital deserts.
Patients are also beginning to use ChatGPT more deeply in their care journeys. Some are uploading test results, medical images and physicians’ notes to the chatbot in search of faster explanations or second opinions, The New York Times reported in December.
That behavior has prompted warnings from clinicians and privacy experts, who say generative AI tools can produce inaccurate responses and are not subject to HIPAA protections.
“Just because you’re providing all of this information to language models doesn’t mean they’re effectively using that information in the same way that a physician would,” Danielle Bitterman, MD, clinical lead for data science and AI at Mass General Brigham, told The New York Times.
At the same time, clinicians themselves are increasingly using AI, further normalizing its role in healthcare. Sixty-six percent of U.S. physicians reported using AI for at least one use case in 2024, up from 38% the year before, according to data cited in the OpenAI report. Nearly half of U.S. nurses reported using AI weekly.
Together, the findings show ChatGPT is no longer just a search tool for health questions. It is increasingly woven into how patients move through the healthcare system, filling access gaps, answering administrative questions and shaping how people interpret medical information.
For health systems, the trend raises new questions about accuracy, privacy and trust as generative AI becomes a parallel source of healthcare guidance, often outside providers’ visibility or control.
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