OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health

OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Health, a health-focused experience within ChatGPT designed to allow users to securely combine personal health information with AI-generated responses.

Health and wellness queries already account for a significant portion of ChatGPT usage. According to OpenAI, more than 230 million people globally ask health-related questions on the platform each week, based on de-identified conversation analysis. ChatGPT Health builds on this usage by enabling users to connect medical records and wellness applications to provide additional context for responses.

The feature allows users to securely link data from medical records and select wellness apps, including Apple Health, Function, and MyFitnessPal. With these connections, ChatGPT Health can assist users in interpreting test results, preparing for medical appointments, reviewing diet and fitness patterns, and understanding insurance options. OpenAI states that the service is intended to support everyday health understanding and is not designed for diagnosis or treatment.

ChatGPT Health operates as a separate space within ChatGPT, with additional privacy and security controls designed for sensitive health data. Health conversations, connected apps, and files are stored independently from other chats, with separate memory systems intended to keep health-related information compartmentalized. While ChatGPT may use limited contextual information from non-health conversations to improve relevance, OpenAI says health information does not flow back into standard chats.

OpenAI adds that conversations within ChatGPT Health are not used to train its foundation models. Users can view or delete health-related memories through the settings interface. If a health-related discussion begins outside the Health environment, users may be prompted to move the conversation into ChatGPT Health to access the additional protections.

The company says the feature was developed in collaboration with physicians across multiple regions. Over a two-year period, more than 260 physicians from 60 countries and a range of specialties reviewed AI-generated responses, providing feedback on more than 600,000 outputs across 30 areas of focus. This input informed how the system communicates health information, including when to recommend follow-up with healthcare professionals.

ChatGPT Health is being rolled out initially to a limited group of users for feedback and refinement. Users on Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are eligible to join a waitlist. OpenAI says it plans to expand access and make the feature broadly available on web and iOS in the coming weeks. Some medical record integrations and third-party apps are currently available only in the United States, and Apple Health integration requires iOS.