By Danielle 
A June 2025 survey by U.S.-based Rater8 found that 26% of patients reported that AI tools — including AI-generated review summaries and conversational assistants like ChatGPT — had directly influenced their choice of healthcare provider.
This places AI on par with primary care referrals (28%) and healthcare review sites (29%) in terms of influence.
“The traditional referral pipeline is weakening, and practices with poor AI visibility risk significant patient leakage,” Rater8 said.
The findings are based on two patient preference surveys conducted through SurveyMonkey: one in December 2024 with 1,008 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, and another in June 2025 with 1,024 U.S. adults, both designed with similar demographic balances to ensure comparability.
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Adopting new behaviours
Online reviews remain the foundation of provider choice. In December 2024, 84% of patients said they checked online reviews before booking care. By June 2025, that figure remained unchanged, and more than half (51%) reported reading at least six reviews before making a decision.
At the same time, 73% of patients reported adopting new behaviours or tools to research providers — including AI chatbots like ChatGPT, voice search assistants such as Siri and Alexa, and social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
“This signals a clear shift: the patient journey is no longer linear. It’s expanding into an AI-powered ecosystem where multiple touchpoints shape decisions,” Rater8 said.
Additionally, 31% of patients said they use generative AI — such as ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews — to research or compare providers.
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Shifting trust
Patients are also rethinking who they trust when making healthcare decisions.
- 61% said they trust online reviews more than personal recommendations from friends or family.
- About one-third trust AI-generated search results as much as traditional search engines like Google, while nearly one in five trust AI even more.
- Only 11% expressed outright skepticism toward AI-powered recommendations.
Rater8 noted that although AI can help guide patients toward providers, “authentic patient experiences ultimately drive final decisions.”
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