OpenAI unveils ChatGPT Health, says 230 million users ask about health each week

OpenAI announced ChatGPT Health on Wednesday, which the company said will offer a dedicated space for users to have conversations with ChatGPT about their health.

People already use ChatGPT to ask about medical issues; OpenAI says that over 230 million people ask health and wellness questions on the platform each week. But the ChatGPT Health product silos these conversations away from your other chats. That way, the context of your health won’t come up in standard conversations with ChatGPT.

If people start chats about their health outside of the Health section, then the AI aims to nudge them to switch over.

Within Health, the AI might reference things you’ve discussed in its standard experience. If you ask ChatGPT for help constructing a marathon training plan, for example, then the AI would know you’re a runner when you talk in Health about your fitness goals.

ChatGPT Health will also be able to integrate with your personal information or medical records from wellness apps like Apple Health, Function, and MyFitnessPal. OpenAI notes that it will not use Health conversations to train its models.

The CEO of Applications at OpenAI, Fidji Simo, wrote in a blog post that she sees ChatGPT Health as a response to existing issues in the healthcare space, like cost and access barriers, overbooked doctors, and a lack of continuity in care.

While the healthcare system has its drawbacks, using AI chatbots for medical advice creates a new slew of challenges. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT operate by predicting the most likely response to prompts, not the most correct answer, since LLMs don’t have a concept of what is true or not. AI models are also prone to hallucinations.

In its own terms of service, OpenAI states that it is “not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of any health condition.”

The feature is expected to roll out in the coming weeks.