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Americans are more open to AI making clinical decisions than their doctors think — but only if a human is still in the loop. A new Gallup survey found over half of U.S. adults are comfortable with AI diagnosing and treating them, as long as a provider can review and override those decisions. Meanwhile, physicians dramatically underestimate this comfort level by about 20 percentage points.
Americans are more open to AI-driven healthcare than their doctors realize — but human oversight remains the dealbreaker. A new Gallup survey of over 5,000 U.S. adults found that a majority are comfortable with AI making diagnostic and treatment decisions, provided their healthcare provider can review and override the output. That's a notable shift from earlier research suggesting patients preferred humans to handle diagnoses entirely.
The catch? Physicians are significantly off in their read of patient sentiment. A separate Gallup poll of 1,000+ primary care physicians revealed a meaningful perception gap — doctors consistently underestimate how open patients are to AI involvement across diagnosis, treatment, medication selection, and imaging review. Survey authors say this signals that providers should be proactively asking patients about their AI preferences rather than assuming reluctance.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: As healthcare systems increasingly deploy autonomous and agentic AI tools — some already piloting AI-issued prescriptions without clinician sign-off — understanding where patients actually draw the line is critical for building trust and designing responsible AI governance frameworks.
