Millions of people already use ChatGPT to ask questions about their health. In fact, OpenAI has previously said it is one of the most common use cases for its popular chatbot. Some upload blood test results, medical scans, and other deeply personal data.
During a press preview, Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, introduced ChatGPT Health by sharing a personal story about how ChatGPT helped her after she was hospitalized for a kidney stone last year and developed an infection. A resident had prescribed a standard antibiotic, but she checked it against her medical history in ChatGPT, which flagged that the medication could reactivate a serious life-threatening infection she had suffered years before.
“The resident was relieved I spoke up, she told me she only has a few minutes per patient during rounds, and that health records aren’t organized in a way that makes it easy to see,” she said. “I’ve heard many stories like this from people who are using AI to help connect the dots in their healthcare system that really wasn’t built to see the full picture.”
According to an OpenAI blog post, the company analyzed deidentified ChatGPT conversations and found that more than 230 million people globally ask health- and wellness-related questions on ChatGPT every week. Even with that massive user base, however, that doesn’t mean the company has an easy road ahead: They are joining a fast-moving race among Big Tech and startups to become the AI front door for consumer healthcare.
ChatGPT Health will not be widely available immediately. There is a waitlist for access to a small group of early users, but the company said it will make Health available to all users on web and iOS in the coming weeks. Electronic Health Records (EHR) integrations and some apps are available in the U.S. only.
OpenAI does not describe ChatGPT Health as HIPAA compliant (consumer health apps are not covered by HIPAA) but says it adds layered protections for sensitive health data and excludes health conversations from model training by default. It also says users can enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of protection to help prevent unauthorized access, and that access to medical records can be removed at any time in the “Apps” section of Settings.”
ChatGPT Health also fits a broader pattern at OpenAI: building vertical-specific experiences on top of its core models, rather than relying solely on general-purpose chat. In education, the company launched Study Mode, a ChatGPT spinoff for students, in July to compete with Google’s Gemini for Education. It has also rolled out agentic shopping and shopping research features. There are also reports that a finance-specific experience is also in the works.
