Four in ten Swiss now use AI chatbots to self-diagnose symptoms, CSS health study finds

Usage has doubled in a year

The CSS health study, produced with the Sotomo research institute and released on 3 November, found that 42% of respondents now use AI chatbots when they have symptoms, up from 20% a year earlier. The survey of 2,549 people in German-, French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland, commissioned by the health insurer CSS, covered both physical and mental complaints. The use of chatbots for self-diagnosis has therefore more than doubled in a single year. The rise was visible in every age group, with 62% of young adults relying on a chatbot's diagnosis. Among over-65s the figure climbed from 10% to 30%. Among respondents with psychological strain, more than one in four used a chatbot for support during the past year, and among young adults the figure exceeded one in five.

All respondents, previous survey20%

All respondents, latest survey42%

Over-65s, previous survey10%

Over-65s, latest survey30%

Young adults, latest survey62%

All respondents, previous survey

20 %

All respondents, latest survey

42 %

Over-65s, previous survey

10 %

Over-65s, latest survey

30 %

Young adults, latest survey

62 %

Data from the article text

A supplementary source, not a substitute

More than a quarter of respondents now count chatbots among their main sources of health information. The share citing them for physical symptoms rose from 18% to 28%, and for psychological symptoms from 11% to 16%. Doctors, the internet and personal networks are still mentioned, and according to the study chatbots are seen mainly as an additional source rather than a replacement. Nearly one in five AI users said they had told a chatbot something they had never shared with another person. Among people who feel isolated, 27% said their exchanges with AI had eased that feeling.

Physical symptoms, previous survey18%

Physical symptoms, latest survey28%

Psychological symptoms, previous survey11%

Psychological symptoms, latest survey16%

Physical symptoms, previous survey

18 %

Physical symptoms, latest survey

28 %

Psychological symptoms, previous survey

11 %

Psychological symptoms, latest survey

16 %

Data from the article text

Emotional coping by age

Coping styles now differ between generations. Seventy percent of young adults said they tend to withdraw when troubled, compared with 55% of people over 65. Among people in psychological distress, 50% confided in those close to them, the lowest share since 2022, when it stood at 57%. For people who feel isolated, the chatbot appears to fill the role of a trusted confidant, according to the study.

Feeling healthier, with sleep and physical strain

Overall, respondents felt healthier than a year earlier, with two thirds describing themselves as very healthy or healthy. A third said they felt rather run down or ill, and the proportion has not yet returned to the roughly three quarters measured in 2020. Physical complaints weighed on 42% of respondents in daily life, and psychological ones on 26%. Sleep, movement and work stress are the most frequent burdens named, while young adults most often said their media use harmed their health. Poor or insufficient sleep is cited as the most common cause of poor health, and a year earlier only about one fifth reported no regular sleep problems.

Diet now rivals genetics as a factor

For the first time since 2020, respondents rated diet as just as important a cause of illness as genetic predisposition, with 59% naming each. Asked what matters about food, 98% named enjoyment and 91% named health. More than a third think about food even when they are not hungry, and half reach for sweets more often when they feel unwell. Only about one in five people regularly eats the recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables, grain products, legumes and nuts. Habits, low motivation and a lack of time were named as the main barriers to eating more healthily.