The news: OpenAI announced ChatGPT Health, a dedicated space within ChatGPT where users can upload medical records and data from select wellness apps.

Here’s how it works: ChatGPT users can now sync health data from apps like Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, and Function Health, alongside medical records via the b.well network.

• This data allows ChatGPT to provide tailored advice, such as interpreting lab results, prepping for appointments, and suggesting specific lifestyle changes.
• ChatGPT Health conversations will run in a separate tab, which OpenAI says will not be used to train its models. Users can disconnect medical record and wellness app data from ChatGPT at their discretion.
• The feature is currently being rolled out to a select group of users but will be available to all users on web and iOS in the coming weeks.
• OpenAI stressed that ChatGPT Health is not intended for diagnosis or treatment and does not replace medical care.

Why it matters: ChatGPT Health elevates the genAI chatbot from an informational resource to a data-driven clinical partner that encourages users to upload medical record information.

While tech giants like Apple made earlier efforts to integrate health records, these ventures failed to gain significant traction. The lack of adoption stemmed from two primary factors: insufficient consumer demand and the technical complexity of accessing siloed medical data.

But OpenAI’s scale may change the trajectory for ChatGPT Health: 25% of ChatGPT’s 800 million global weekly users actively seek out health information, per OpenAI data released earlier this week. People who are already using ChatGPT for questions about symptoms and medical conditions may find added value in layering in their health and wellness data if they’re comfortable with the privacy trade-offs. Past consumer health apps that integrated patient data also lacked ChatGPT’s level of AI sophistication.

Implications for AI companies: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has touted health queries as a top ChatGPT use case, and is now leaning into its growing user base to add value-added services as the AI race among top players intensifies.

While Google’s Gemini is likely to launch a competing feature, success will be measured by clinical reliability and data privacy. OpenAI has attempted to address the former by developing ChatGPT Health alongside hundreds of medical professionals. However, the latter depends entirely on the public's willingness to integrate sensitive medical data into AI ecosystems. While consumers’ overall trust in tech platforms to safeguard health data remains low, people are likely to view widely used tools like ChatGPT differently, as they’re gaining trust and already helping people better understand health and wellness.