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From serving as a sensemaking tool for health information to supporting care coordination and reducing caregiver burden, AI has the potential to improve outcomes and independence. At the same time, questions around trust, transparency, accuracy, and usability influence how and whether these tools are adopted. This four-part AI & Health: 2026 50-Plus Consumer Pulse Series provides a data-driven pulse of consumer sentiment and experience with AI in health over time.
About the AARP AI & Health Series
AI is becoming embedded in health-related decisions and experiences, from AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to symptom checkers, predictive tools, and remote monitoring. The AI & Health: 2026 50-Plus Consumer Pulse Series examines awareness, perceptions, and use of AI in health care delivery and consumer health management and explores how people age 50-plus are experiencing AI across healthcare, caregiving, and daily life by capturing both emerging opportunities and evolving concerns. Key areas of exploration include:
- AI in personal health, wellness, and caregiving, including tools used by individuals and caregivers to manage health, coordinate care, and support daily needs
- Experiences with healthcare providers and services, including how AI is used by doctors and providers in communication, documentation, and treatment
- Trust, transparency, and perceived risks of AI, including expectations for disclosure, oversight, and human involvement in care
- Barriers to adoption, including digital literacy, access, and usability
Who This Research Serves
This series informs consumers, health care organizations, technology developers, policymakers, and researchers shaping the future of AI in health. Grounded in the experiences and expectations of adults age 50-plus, the findings help ensure AI-enabled solutions are practical, trusted, and built to improve care and everyday health.
The AI & Health 50-Plus Consumer Pulse Series is based on a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults, conducted by NORC.
AI & Health 50+ Consumer Pulse Releases
Part 1: AI-Powered Health Tools
Older adults are already using AI to ask health questions, look up symptoms, and navigate insurance but trust lags far behind use. Two in five adults age 50-plus who used AI have already asked it a health-related question, yet 69% are not comfortable sharing personal health information with an AI-powered health tool. The top reason: they trust the doctor in the room more than any digital tool.
Part 2: AI and Health Care Providers
AI is already in the doctor's office; most patients just do not know it. Six in 10 older adults do not know whether their health care provider uses AI at all, and only 9% say a provider has ever explained that AI was being used as part of their care. Comfort with AI varies sharply depending on whether it is used to handle paperwork or to influence a diagnosis.
Navigating the World of AI: Awareness, Attitudes, and How People Expect to Use It
Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday life for older adults. This data story examines awareness, attitudes, and real‑world use of AI among adults 50‑plus, highlighting where they see opportunity, risk, and practical value today and in the future.
For more information, please contact Brittne Kakulla at bkakulla@aarp.org. For media inquiries, please contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.