AI symptom checks double among people in Switzerland

Four in 10 people in Switzerland now use AI chatbots to assess symptoms, up from 20% a year earlier, according to a CSS health study reported by SRF.

The study, conducted by research institute Sotomo on behalf of health insurer CSS, surveyed 2,549 people in German-, French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland. Use rose across all age groups. Among young adults, 62% said they had turned to a chatbot for a diagnosis. The share among people over 65 climbed to 30%, from 10% the previous year.

More than a quarter of respondents counted AI chatbots among their most important sources of health information. The study found they were used as an additional source, not as a replacement for doctors or advice from people close to them.

Respondents generally felt healthier than the year before, with fewer describing themselves as unwell or sick. Poor or insufficient sleep was cited as the most common cause of poor health. In the previous year’s survey, only one in five respondents said they had no regular sleep problems.

For the first time since the study series began in 2020, respondents rated diet as an illness factor as important as genetic predisposition. Fifty-nine percent cited these factors as benchmarks for serious illness. Only one in five said they ate the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables. Respondents named established habits, lack of motivation and lack of time as barriers to healthier eating.