Frequent AI chatbot users more likely to believe anti-vaccine myths, poll finds
A KFF poll of 2,480 U.S. adults found that people who frequently use AI chatbots for health information are more likely to hold false beliefs about vaccines, including the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. The survey, conducted in May, identified a correlation between AI tool use for health advice and acceptance of vaccine misinformation.
Why this matters: This is not an abstract AI safety concern. People are making real health decisions based on what chatbots tell them, and the pattern here is not reassuring. A correlation does not prove the chatbots are causing these beliefs, but it does mean something is going wrong somewhere in that loop. If AI tools are amplifying bad health information, or simply attracting users who already distrust mainstream medicine, that is a public health problem either way. The companies building these tools and the platforms promoting them as health resources need to own that risk openly.
Who should care: AI governance · Lawyers · Administrators · General readers · Policy
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