Want to ask ChatGPT about your kid's symptoms? Think again — it's right only 17% of the time

Medical chatbot collects patient symptoms. Artificial intelligence supports and helps clinic patients. Vector flat illustration.

The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT is highly inaccurate at making pediatric diagnoses, a new study finds.

Just as many parents may consult websites like WebMD to check symptoms their children are experiencing, they may also be tempted to consult ChatGPT. But researchers found the AI chatbot — powered by a language model called GPT-3.5 made by OpenAI — failed to correctly diagnose 83% of pediatric cases it examined. They published their findings Jan. 2 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.