How to Build Patient Trust in AI

By Zachary Amos

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a fixture in the healthcare industry. Physicians frequently report that the technology saves time and helps them make decisions, but not all patients are open to its use. Discover how affected professionals can change that, and why this perception matters.

How do patients feel about AI used in healthcare?

Technology adoption in healthcare is not a new phenomenon. Advancements such as electronic health records, connected equipment, and dictation apps are commonly used to support patient care and provider workflows.

AI is slightly different because it became rapidly accessible to average consumers a few years ago, due to products such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Many people feel comfortable using these tools to search for things online. However, they don’t necessarily want them in medical offices, and particularly not in applications that may replace humans.

One 2025 study found that over 70% of those polled did not support uses of AI that would replace doctors. The researchers also clarified that respondents did not want the technology to make decisions without considering patients’ feelings. Even so, 80% supported the use of AI in healthcare, suggesting that most people are open to it within reason.

Some patients’ mistrust of AI stems from how it will be used rather than the technology itself. A 2023 survey of 2,039 respondents indicated that more than 65% had little trust in healthcare systems to use AI responsibly. Similarly, more than 57% lacked confidence that these entities would apply the appropriate precautions to protect patients from AI-related harms.

The importance of building patient trust

Healthcare professionals must understand that not all patients are excited about the rising use of AI, and some have particular concerns about how their providers may use it. Hesitant individuals may delay care if they believe their doctors will use AI without their knowledge. Although some ailments resolve without medical attention, waiting them out can make specific treatment options inaccessible to patients whose diseases have progressed too far for those possibilities to be effective.

These parties may also feel like AI functions as another person in the exam room, making them think twice before disclosing things. That is particularly true if they do not know what happens to their data. If patients worry that their physicians will pass the information to insurance representatives who will then use it as justification to deny care, it’s understandable why they may not warmly receive news that their medical practices now use AI.

Individuals who become less open to seeking professional advice about their health may turn to other options, such as consumer-facing chatbots, not realizing that those have specific risks, too. Researchers tested ChatGPT Health to see how it responded to 60 realistic scenarios. The results indicated that the tool under-triaged more than 50% of cases that physicians classified as emergencies. It performed well in the most clear-cut cases but struggled with more nuanced ones.

Steps for increasing AI trustworthiness

Building patient trust in AI can be a long process because most people naturally distrust things they don’t understand. Many are also already anxious in medical settings and become overwhelmed when they see their care team members use new technologies in ways that might adversely affect them. Here are some ways healthcare professionals can respond empathetically and practically to these concerns.

Explain that AI only complements human knowledge

Many journalists have explored whether AI might take people’s jobs, and how soon it could happen. Patients may be more open to the technology if it is explicitly explained to them that it will help doctors do their jobs better and not replace them. The ideal healthcare technology applications act as silent partners, handling routine tasks and monitoring in the background and leaving practitioners with more time to engage with people.

Specifying how a healthcare provider uses AI and why helps patients feel more informed. The alternative is that they become upset because it seems like too many things are happening without their knowledge, and they worry that the quality of care might change. Improved transparency shows patients that many things will remain as they expect and reassures them that entities will use AI responsibly when implementing it into medical applications.

Ask for consent when applicable

Some medical offices use AI technology that listens to what happens during a patient’s appointment and produces transcribed notes. However, people may not like the idea that an application is listening to private conversations between them and their providers. The main concerns may stem from the possibility that the AI will misrepresent what was said or that data breaches could expose confidential information.

In other cases, healthcare professionals use AI to determine the best course of action, but not when a patient is in the room with them. For example, studies have shown that AI can detect cancer with up to 95% accuracy when a radiologist is also involved in interpreting the medical images. Those specialists usually do that part of their work outside the presence of the affected patients. It may then be more appropriate to disclose that AI helped reach a diagnosis, but medical office representatives might not need to seek consent.

Keep providers involved in usage decisions

Most patients will trust AI more if they realize that their providers were fully involved in its rollout. Providing information that details the processes a medical practice or department went through before bringing the technology into daily work should ease their minds and help convince them that significant thought and planning went into the chosen approach.

A 2026 physician survey found 85% want to participate in the implementation and consultation processes for adopting healthcare AI applications. If physicians can tell their patients that they gave ongoing feedback about how an organization uses the technology and why, it may reassure the patients that things progressed thoughtfully rather than haphazardly.

Earn trust with honesty and openness

The adoption of AI in healthcare shows no signs of slowing, but some patients need convincing that this is the right way forward. They will understandably have questions or need clarification about how a provider uses the technology. Giving them truthful answers and remaining ready to address their concerns should help increase their confidence.

Zachary Amos is a tech writer who covers healthcare IT, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. He has bylines on HIT Consultant, Health IT Answers, and VentureBeat, and he is the Features Editor at ReHack Magazine. For more of his work, follow him on LinkedIn or X.