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Assessing the Use, Impact, and Perspectives of Generative Artificial Intelligence Among Health Consumers: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Saudi Arabia

Background/Objectives: Saudi Health consumers increasingly rely on generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) to access health information from a growing number of health-related resources. Little is known about the frequency and patterns of generative AI tool use for seeking health information among consumers, its reported impact, and health consumers’ perceptions of these tools. This study aims to investigate the use of and perspectives on generative AI tools among health consumers in Saudi Arabia (SA). It also a…

By the Truvace desk2 min read1 sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-2185· cite & verify
Assessing the Use, Impact, and Perspectives of Generative Artificial Intelligence Among Health Consumers: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Saudi Arabia
"Chatbots linked" by Ashhstarr is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.

In brief

A cross-sectional online survey of 403 adults in Saudi Arabia who had used generative AI tools for health information found heavy use. About 49% of those respondents reported using it more than five times a month, and ChatGPT was the main platform at 84%. Common complaints queried were headache, abdominal pain and musculoskeletal pain.

The findings matter because everyday chatbot use may be changing what people tell their doctors and when they seek care, including urgent care requests or delayed visits. The data are self-reported, and the study did not assess whether the information was accurate, clinically safe or appropriate, so actual harm or benefit remains unknown.

Main points

  1. The sample was 403 eligible adults, 58% of them male, surveyed in two rounds in 2026.
  2. Younger age, higher income and prior pre-visit use were linked to more frequent health information seeking.
  3. Quick information retrieval (71%), time saving (34%) and curiosity (30.5%) were the main reasons for use.
  4. Respondents reported concerns about inaccurate information, missed serious illness and increased health anxiety.

The problem

Frequent chatbot use for health information may lead some users to withhold information from clinicians or postpone physician visits, while many respondents worry about inaccurate answers and missed serious illness.

The rundown

The study was an exploratory, self-administered online survey of adults aged 18 and over living in Saudi Arabia. It included only people who had used generative AI tools to seek online health information in the past year, and the authors used bivariate and multivariate analyses to examine relationships among variables.

Age was significantly negatively associated with frequency of use, while income and pre-visit use were positively associated. This suggests that use is concentrated among younger, higher-income and already-engaged users.

The authors conclude that generative AI can serve as a health information source and may influence behaviours such as requesting urgent care or postponing physician visits. They stress that the results do not establish diagnostic accuracy, clinical effectiveness or patient safety.

Sources

  1. Peer-reviewedHealthcare2026-10-22

The debate