40 Million People Use ChatGPT Every Day for Health Topics

Over 5% of all ChatGPT messages worldwide are about health.

1 in 4 users makes at least one medical query each week.

40 million people turn to this AI daily with health questions.

OpenAI just published “AI as a Healthcare Ally”, revealing surprising data about AI use in healthcare.

Key Numbers

• 2 million weekly messages about health insurance: comparing plans, understanding prices, managing claims.
• 600,000 weekly messages from underserved rural communities in the U.S.
• 70% of health conversations occur outside clinical hours (8am-5pm).

Documented Real Cases

Remote Diagnosis

A woman in San Francisco coordinated urgent care for her mother in Indonesia using ChatGPT. The AI alerted about a possible stroke. The patient measured her blood pressure, confirmed the risk, and went to the hospital. A doctor validated the diagnosis. She has recovered 95% of her vision.

Victory Against Insurers

A patient in Seattle with an autoimmune disease used ChatGPT to find scientific studies and won the appeal against his insurance denial.

Professional Use Skyrocketing

Healthcare professionals have massively adopted AI:

• 66% of American doctors use AI (it was 38% in 2023)
• 46% of nurses use it weekly
• 21% of doctors use it for documentation and billing codes
• 75% consider it improves their efficiency
• 72% believe it helps with diagnosis

Access in Rural Areas

OpenAI analyzed areas more than 30 minutes from the nearest hospital:

• Wyoming leads with 4.15% of messages from these areas
• Oregon has the highest absolute volume with 54,660 monthly messages

Beyond the Chat

AI use in medicine goes beyond chatting with ChatGPT:

• Researchers use OpenAI models to repurpose approved drugs for untreated diseases
• Cellular reprogramming for Parkinson’s
• Educational platforms to train clinical reasoning

OpenAI’s Proposals

OpenAI proposes:

1. Securely connecting public medical data
2. Building infrastructure to validate AI-designed molecules
3. Clarifying FDA regulations for medical devices with AI

Sources

• 40 million use ChatGPT for health questions | Healthcare Dive
• AI as a Healthcare Ally | OpenAI

Can AI become a tool for healthcare equity, or will it widen the gap between those with access to technology and those without?