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A researcher says AI chatbots and voice assistants can help older adults access and understand health information, but their answers can be wrong, overly agreeable or pose privacy risks. The recommended approach is “informed skepticism”: use available source-checking features, verify important claims and avoid sharing identifying details.
AI chatbots can help older adults get quick explanations of health topics, but a researcher says users should approach their answers with “informed skepticism”—remaining open to the tools while checking their sources, accuracy and privacy risks. The guidance, reported by Medical Xpress, reflects research on older adults’ use of voice assistants and AI, alongside survey findings on how often users verify chatbot responses.
A 2025 poll conducted by the researcher and colleagues found that one in two older adults said they used AI chatbots or voice assistants, while about 14% accessed health information through them. The report also cites a separate 2025 survey of 300 adults in which about one in five said they turned to AI chatbots with health questions. These figures come from different surveys and should not be treated as a single estimate of use.
People may ask chatbots about symptoms, diet or fitness. The researcher says the tools can respond quickly, explain complex medical information in simpler terms and offer a way to raise sensitive questions. For older people managing chronic conditions or new diagnoses, that convenience may help them prepare questions or understand information between medical appointments. The report does not establish that chatbot answers can replace professional care.
The risks include incorrect guidance, misclassification of health conditions and “sycophancy”—a tendency to give answers that seem to agree with a user, even when they are inaccurate. The researcher also cites the 2025 survey of 300 health-chatbot users: four in five respondents said they never verified the output. Public chatbot services may retain prompts to train future models, creating a separate privacy concern.
Health Answers Need a Second Check
The appeal of chatbots is also part of the risk: an immediate, clear-sounding answer can feel authoritative, even when it is wrong. For older adults who have frequent health questions, the tools may make information easier to access, but relying on an unchecked response could lead to misunderstanding symptoms or advice. The report presents AI as a possible supplement to health information, not a substitute for a clinician’s assessment.
Verification can be harder when the user expects to complete the search on one device. In the researcher’s work, older people using voice assistants tended to prefer beginning and ending their search there, while younger adults more often treated AI as one step before consulting another source. That finding points to a practical need: teach checking strategies in ways that fit how older adults actually use these tools, rather than assuming they will move to a separate website.
Privacy matters as well. Health questions can include sensitive details, and the report says some public chatbot companies retain prompts. Users should avoid entering identifying information and check the service’s privacy settings and policies before sharing personal health details.
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How Older Adults Use AI
The report challenges the stereotype that older adults are uniformly unfamiliar with technology. It describes older people using voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa, as well as chatbots including ChatGPT and other mainstream or health-provider-specific systems. It also notes that AI features can appear inside search engines, sometimes as summaries placed above conventional results.
Use can be shaped by access and autonomy. A chatbot at home may feel more convenient than waiting for an appointment or searching across many pages. The researcher also says some older adults may feel more in control when seeking information independently, particularly in clinical settings where caregivers can sometimes take the lead in conversations.
The report cites the Aging with AI Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate in 2026, as an example of growing policy attention to research on AI’s benefits and risks for older people. The source does not provide details on the bill’s progress or specific provisions.
““informed skepticism””
— The researcher, as quoted in the Medical Xpress report
Limits of the Available Evidence
The cited figures are based on surveys, including one of 300 adults; the report does not give enough detail here to establish how representative those samples are of all older adults or chatbot users. The figures also measure different groups and behaviors, so they cannot show how many older adults use chatbots specifically for medical decisions.
The report does not quantify how often chatbot errors cause harm among older users, or whether the guidance described has been tested to reduce that risk. It also does not identify which chatbot services retain prompts under what conditions. Retention practices can vary by service and settings, so users should consult the specific provider’s current privacy information.
Practical Checks Before Asking
The researcher recommends learning how to opt out of AI features when desired and using chatbot tools that expose or link to information sources. The report gives Google Search as an example of a service that displays AI-generated summaries and says adding “-ai” to a query can remove AI content from results. Search features can change, so users should check the service’s current instructions.
For chatbot answers, users can compare claims with reliable published health sources and bring unresolved or consequential questions to a qualified health professional. They should avoid sharing names, addresses or other identifying information in prompts. The report offers these as starting strategies, not a guarantee that a chatbot response is accurate or private. Further research and policy discussion, including attention to older users’ distinct habits, remain part of what comes next.
Key Questions
Can older adults use chatbots for health questions?
They can use them to ask questions or get explanations, but the report advises treating responses as information to check, not as a diagnosis or replacement for professional care.
What does “informed skepticism” mean?
It means staying open to what a chatbot may offer while checking the answer’s quality and credibility, including using source links or comparing claims with published information.
How common is health-chatbot use, according to the report?
A 2025 poll cited in the report found that about 14% of older adults accessed health information using AI chatbots or voice assistants. A separate survey found that one in five of 300 adults used AI chatbots for health questions; those results describe different samples.
What should users avoid sharing with a public chatbot?
The report recommends avoiding personally identifiable information. It says some companies may retain prompts for training, and users should review the privacy terms and settings of the particular service.
Source: medicalxpress.com
