More Singaporeans are embracing AI for health advice, but many still walk away over clunky forms, poor messaging, or inconsistent digital systems.
More than half of Singaporeans say they would trust AI with health advice. But poor digital systems are still pushing patients away. A new survey reveals why smarter tech isn’t enough on its own.
AI Health Advice Gains Ground in Singapore
“Don’t trust the internet.”
That was the go-to advice from many Boomer parents for most of the 2000s. Googling the answers to questions, talking to strangers, forums, random websites, or even Wikipedia, none of it could be trusted. Now, those same kids are grown up, and nearly two-thirds of them say they’d happily take medical advice from artificial intelligence.
It’s a sharp turn, and it says a lot about how fast habits change.
According to a new survey by Smart Communications, 62% of Singaporeans say they would value health recommendations generated by AI. The company polled over 3,000 consumers globally as part of its 2025 Customer Experience Benchmark.
Growing trust in AI for health advice isn’t theoretical. Earlier this year, a woman in the United States credited ChatGPT with helping to detect the thyroid cancer that her doctors missed.
Lauren Bannon, a 40-year-old mother of two, had spent months visiting specialists after developing joint pain, among other symptoms. Doctors initially diagnosed her with rheumatoid arthritis and acid reflux, even though her tests came back negative. Frustrated and desperate, she turned to ChatGPT.
“I needed to find out what was happening to me, I just felt so desperate,” Bannon told Kennedy News, as reported by the New York Post. “I just wasn’t getting the answers I needed.”
ChatGPT flagged a possible case of Hashimoto’s disease, and Bannon insisted on getting tested. The results led doctors to perform an ultrasound, which revealed two small lumps in her neck. In October 2024, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“If I hadn’t looked on ChatGPT, I would’ve just taken the rheumatoid arthritis medication and the cancer would’ve spread from my neck to everywhere else,” she said.
“It saved my life. I would’ve never discovered this without ChatGPT.”
In Singapore Hospitals, AI Is Already Making the Call
Singapore’s hospitals are no longer just testing AI, they are relying on it daily. At National University Hospital Singapore, clinicians use RUSSELL‑GPT, a large language model built on the supercomputer Prescience.
It instantly summarises patient case notes, drafts referral letters, and captures real-time voice-to-text documentation, tasks that typically take 20 minutes per patient.
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Doctors report that RUSSELL‑GPT has improved efficiency by up to 40%, enabling them to spend more time on patient care and reducing the risk of errors. More than 3,600 NUHS staff have adopted it as their default generative AI tool
So when Singaporeans say they trust AI for health advice, they’re not imagining a far-off future. They are responding to what they’re seeing in real-life applications.
That same comfort is extending to other sectors too. 60% are open to AI suggesting changes to their insurance plans, and 58% would accept financial advice from AI systems.
Read also: Are AI Chatbots Changing Healthcare for Better or Worse?
Trust Rises, But Confidence in Quality Lags
Even as trust in AI grows, many Singaporeans still prefer a human in the loop. According to the report, only 15% believe that generative AI creates better customer communications than people. Meanwhile, 46% say a human should always check any content AI generates before it reaches them.
People may no longer demand that companies flag every use of AI, but they still want assurance that the output meets human standards. It’s not enough for AI to be fast. It has to sound right, feel personal, and get the details right.
Language that feels too robotic, too vague, or too clinical can erode trust, especially when the message involves treatment plans or test results. Singaporeans appear open to AI health advice, so long as someone qualified still has the final word.
What patients look out for
- Overly generic responses that don’t reflect personal medical history
- Inconsistent tone or clinical jargon that feels impersonal or confusing
- Missing context or advice that skips important steps like follow-up or monitoring
- Lack of source citation or transparency on where the information comes from
Read also: Learn 5 Strategies for Doctors to Attract More Patients
Bad Digital Forms Still Breaking the System
AI might be winning over patients, but digital forms are still driving them away. 67% of Singaporeans say they would abandon a healthcare interaction with a company if the forms or data collection process is too difficult.
For younger users, it’s even worse. 73% of Millennials and 71% of Gen Z respondents say they would walk away. For them, long or confusing forms are not just annoying, they’re a dealbreaker.
The preference is clear: fast, mobile-friendly forms that are easy to complete. If people trust AI health advice but can’t make it through a signup form, they’ll never even get to the advice. And that means all the investment in smart tech could be wasted on bad UX.
Omnichannel Frustrations Add to Drop-offs
Singaporeans may be more open to AI health advice, but they still expect the basics to work, starting with communication. Only 51% say companies contact them on their preferred channel “always” or “almost always”,
In fact, 66% said they’d trust companies more if the experience was consistent across all channels. Patients notice when the system works, and when it doesn’t.
So what should clinics and doctors do?
- Stick to the channels patients already use. Email is still king, preferred by 56%. Encrypted messaging services (17.5%) and web/apps (11.5%) follow. Don’t push people onto platforms they don’t want.
- Avoid print wherever possible. Only 5.5% prefer it, and even fewer engage with it reliably.
- Make every message count. In healthcare, timing matters. A delayed reminder or a missed update can have real consequences.
Smarter Tech Alone Won’t Keep Patients
Singaporeans may be warming to AI health advice, but trust in the technology is only part of the equation. The bigger issue is usability. Fragmented digital systems still drive patients away, even when the tech itself is promising.
The Smart Communications survey paints a clear picture: people are ready to engage with AI, but only if the experience feels intuitive and respectful of their time. A helpful chatbot cannot fix a form that takes too long. An AI-generated update loses value if it lands on the wrong channel.
For healthcare providers, this is a moment of opportunity, and risk. AI may be ready. Patients might be ready, too. But supporting systems still need to work well.
