More than half of Australians are turning to generative AI tools for health advice and symptom checks – despite widespread concerns about accuracy and the potential loss of human connection in healthcare.

The findings are the first results from the 2026 Australian Healthcare Index, which is due to be officially released later this month.

The preliminary findings show 53 per cent of respondents were concerned about AI making mistakes, with 44 per cent worried about losing human interaction and more than a third raised privacy concerns.

The annual survey, conducted by HealthEngine in partnership with Patients Australia, found just over a third of respondents had encountered AI in a healthcare setting, including through AI receptionists and clinical documentation tools.

Speaking at the Australian Association of Practice Management (AAPM) national conference in Brisbane on Wednesday, HealthEngine CEO Dan Stinton said the findings highlighted a tension between consumer adoption of AI and trust in the technology.

He said more than half of respondents reported turning to tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Google Gemini as an initial source of healthcare advice and symptom information.

Mr Stinton said generative AI was increasingly replacing traditional internet searches for health information, although he acknowledged the potential risks of patients relying on the technology rather than consulting their regular GP.

He also suggested that trust in AI was declining even as its use increased, with concerns about accuracy, privacy and the loss of human interaction likely to influence how the technology was adopted in healthcare.

Notably, this is the first year the Australian Healthcare Index has included questions about AI and the survey does not establish whether trust has changed over time.

The survey draws on responses from several thousand Australians, weighted to reflect the population by age, gender and location.

It also found that Australians’ overall rating of the healthcare system had improved for the second consecutive year, reaching an average of 7.4 out of 10, compared with 7 two years earlier.

Patient preferences shape AI adoption

Mr Stinton said HealthEngine’s experience introducing AI-powered administrative tools into medical practices reflected some of the concerns identified in the survey.

The company’s AI receptionist, Voice, is now being used by approximately 150 practices and can handle around 60 per cent of incoming calls without staff intervention, up from 30 to 40 per cent when it was introduced about 18 months ago.

However, Mr Stinton acknowledged that some patients remained strongly opposed to interacting with AI, despite positive satisfaction ratings among those using the service.

HealthEngine had initially encouraged practices to use AI as the first point of contact for incoming calls, but now recommends that some clinics offer patients a choice between speaking to reception staff and using an automated assistant.

Mr Stinton said this was particularly relevant for practices serving older patient populations.

He said patients who used the AI receptionist gave it an average satisfaction rating of 4.5 out of five, although a proportion of callers preferred not to interact with the technology at all.

HealthEngine has also introduced AI-assisted SMS conversations for patient recalls, allowing patients to arrange appointments by replying directly to text messages rather than following booking links.

Mr Stinton said approximately 80 practices were using the capability, introduced about two months ago, with the proportion of patients booking through automated recall messages increasing from around 10 per cent to 30 per cent.

More recently, the company has introduced functionality allowing patients to initiate SMS conversations with their practice, with reception staff able to view the full conversation and take over within HealthEngine’s system when required.

Mr Stinton said HealthEngine deliberately limited its AI systems to administrative functions, with clinical questions referred to practice staff rather than answered by the technology.