More than 5% of all messages sent through ChatGPT globally are related to health topics. According to a report shared exclusively by OpenAI with Axios, 40 million Americans use the chatbot daily to seek answers to medical questions. Users often turn to it for help interpreting medical bills, comparing insurance plans, or checking symptoms—typically due to limited access to immediate medical consultations. OpenAI identified this trend early and has positioned GPT-5 as particularly well-suited for such healthcare-related applications.

OpenAI currently handles nearly two million insurance-related queries each week. This surge coincides with the Trump administration's decision to let long-standing health insurance subsidies expire at the beginning of the year.

There are significant risks associated with using ChatGPT for medical advice. The model is still prone to hallucinations, and many users may be relying on less capable versions of the AI that lack robust reasoning abilities—especially during voice conversations, where lighter models are used to enable faster responses. These concerns are not addressed in OpenAI’s recently released promotional videos.