Patient Acquisition Using AI Agents

As of late 2026, Nearly half of all patients (47%) now use generative AI chatbots or search engines to research their medical concerns and find healthcare providers. While general-purpose LLMs are widely popular, patients also leverage conversational search engines and healthcare-native agents embedded inside hospital networks.

AI Agent / Tool	Primary Healthcare Use Cases	Core Strengths for Patients
ChatGPT (OpenAI) About 37% of the patients use this	Explaining diagnoses, translating lab jargon, and drafting question lists for doctor visits.	Excellent conversational tone; highly effective for general triage reasoning.
Google Gemini & AI Overviews – About 34% of the patients use this	Symptom research, understanding specific conditions, and pulling local doctor recommendations directly from Google Maps.	Native integration into standard search infrastructure and localized data.
Microsoft Copilot About 17% of the patients use this	Medical literature synthesis and finding localized specialists by specific language or gender filters.	Explicitly grounds medical answers in verified, expert sources like Harvard Health.
Perplexity AI About 5% of the patients use this	Deep research on rare conditions, cross-comparing medical treatments, and identifying industry experts.	Emphasizes clickable inline citations and source transparency so patients can verify facts.
Specialized Provider Portals (e.g., NYU Langone Ask AI, Hyro)	Finding doctors within a specific insurance plan or local hospital network.	Built directly into health network directories; avoids hallucinations regarding specific location data.

Note: AI usage is constantly changing.

Between Google Gemini (AI , which ones are used most by patients looking for providers?