Survey finds AI is shaping how patients make healthcare decisions

Patients are increasingly using artificial intelligence and other digital tools to guide healthcare choices, according to a new report from ZS Impact Institute. The findings suggest that many consumers are not waiting for a provider visit before seeking information, and that this shift is affecting how care is discovered, requested and delayed.

The report, titled “2026 Future of Health,” draws on insights from nearly 10,000 healthcare consumers and providers across the U.S., Germany and China. Researchers said the pattern they observed is consistent across healthcare systems, which they described as evidence of a broader breakdown in how patients seek and experience care globally.

In the U.S., 58% of patients said they research symptoms before deciding whether to book an appointment. That behavior appears to be part of a wider move toward self-guided care decisions. The report found that 37% of U.S. respondents use search engines for health information, and 94% of those users say the information is helpful. In addition, 18% report using AI for health information, and 89% of those users say it is helpful.

The report also points to patients using that information to influence treatment choices. Fifty-two percent of U.S. patients said they request specific medications, while 68% of providers said they have seen more patients requesting therapies by name.

ZS said the rise in AI use cannot be explained by access alone. Instead, the report links the trend to growing consumer frustration with healthcare. The survey found that 45% of U.S. patients avoid seeing a physician until they are sick. Forty-one percent have not had a health check-up in three or more years. Thirty-six percent wait a year or more for a diagnosis.

The report also found that 29% of respondents do not take prescribed treatments and 54% stop treatments prematurely. In addition, 38% said they lack a primary care physician, and 30% reported that diagnostic delays led to a worsening of medical conditions.

Together, the findings suggest patients are not only using AI and search engines to gather information, but also navigating care in a system many feel is difficult to access or slow to respond. The report frames that shift as part of a larger change in patient behavior, with medical knowledge becoming easier for consumers to reach before they speak with a clinician.

Researchers included recommendations for leaders in pharma, payers, medtech and providers. For providers, the report suggests redesigning care pathways and using AI to extend capacity and continuity of care. The report did not provide additional detail in the source on the specific steps these changes would involve.

In a statement included with the report, Jon Roffman, a ZS principal and lead contributor, said patients are changing faster than the system designed to serve them. He said AI has placed medical knowledge directly in patients’ hands, while the healthcare system still assumes patients will come to it first. Roffman added that the model has changed and that patients are now more informed and empowered. To keep them engaged, he said the system must reduce friction with its own set of AI and technology tools in order to deliver more connected, supportive care.

The report comes amid wider attention on how AI is influencing both patient behavior and clinical workflows. In this case, the findings focus on consumers who are using digital tools to make decisions earlier in the care journey, often before they see a provider. The source did not report whether the survey measured changes in outcomes tied directly to AI use, nor did it compare the findings to prior years.

Still, the central message of the report is clear: patients are actively shaping their own healthcare decisions with AI, search engines and symptom research, and that trend appears to be intersecting with delayed care, treatment changes and dissatisfaction with the traditional care process.