January 23, 2026- Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in healthcare top the 2026 list of the most significant health technology hazards, according to an annual report by ECRI. Chatbots that rely on large language models (LLMs) — such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, and Grok — produce human-like and expert-sounding responses to users’ questions. The tools are not regulated as medical devices nor validated for healthcare purposes but are increasingly used by clinicians, patients, and healthcare personnel, according to ECRI. Yet, More than 40 million people daily turn to ChatGPT for health information, according to a recent analysis from OpenAI.
ECRI says that chatbots can provide valuable assistance, but they can also provide false or misleading information that could result in significant patient harm. Thus, ECRI advises caution whenever using a chatbot for information that can impact patient care.
Rather than truly understanding context or meaning, AI systems generate responses by predicting sequences of words based on patterns learned from their training data. They are programmed to sound confident and to always provide an answer to satisfy the user, even when the answer isn’t reliable. ECRI experts say that chatbots have suggested incorrect diagnoses, recommended unnecessary testing, promoted subpar medical supplies, and even invented body parts in response to medical questions while sounding like a trusted expert.
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