US Adult AI Health Use Jumps to 61% From 2% as Patients Seek 24/7 Help
Updated
Updated · ZDNet · Jun 30
US Adult AI Health Use Jumps to 61% From 2% as Patients Seek 24/7 Help
3 articles · Updated · ZDNet · Jun 30
Summary
61% of U.S. adults now use AI for health information, up from 2% in 2024, according to Salesforce’s Connected Health Consumer survey of 3,200 people worldwide.
58% to 60% of patients delay or skip care because scheduling is difficult, while 67% say they would prefer 24/7 AI help to waiting for regular office hours.
70% say proactive AI check-ins would help after visits, where nearly 1 in 4 patients leave unsure about their treatment plan; 78% also want automatic medication and care-plan reminders.
Trust still depends on guardrails: patients are three times more likely to trust AI inside a provider’s secure portal than a public chatbot, and nearly 90% expect human oversight or escalation.
Can AI truly fix healthcare's deep-rooted problems, or will it just create a new, high-tech layer of costs and risks?
As AI enters healthcare, who is legally responsible for its mistakes and the security of your most private data?
With AI trained on today's health data, will it fix the system's inequities or just learn to automate them?
Over 14 Million Americans Now Rely on AI for Health Advice: How AI Tools Are Reshaping U.S. Healthcare in 2026
Overview
In early to mid-2026, Americans are rapidly adopting AI health tools, making AI a regular part of daily life and healthcare. Many people now use AI to research health conditions or treatments before seeing a doctor, and some even skip provider visits after consulting AI. This shift is driven by barriers in traditional healthcare, such as high costs, inconvenience, and negative experiences. As a result, there is a growing reliance on AI as both an alternative and a supplement to medical consultations, fundamentally changing how individuals engage with the healthcare system.