{"id":9749,"date":"2026-11-14T13:00:01","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T07:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/braintannica.com\/blog\/?p=9749"},"modified":"2026-11-14T13:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T08:23:08","slug":"ai-for-health-india-bcg-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/braintannica.com\/blog\/ai-for-health-india-bcg-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"India uses AI for health more than the US, UK or Japan."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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85% of internet-connected Indians surveyed by BCG have used, or currently use, AI-powered tools for their health.<\/strong> In the US the figure is 50%. In the UK it is 43%. In Japan it is 34%. The number is striking, and easy to misread. The infographic above sets out who was asked, what they were asked, what counts as an AI tool and what the figure does not show. This article covers what else the survey found and what it means for hospitals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

The numbers<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Use of AI-powered tools for health, by country:<\/strong> India 85%, Brazil 67%, China 62%, US 50%, Germany 44%, UK 43%, Japan 34%. Globally, nearly 60% of respondents use AI for health. Source: BCG survey of 13,353 internet-connected consumers in 15 countries, November 2025. The country shares are as reported by Business Standard and The Week; BCG's own text gives the global figure.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Note:<\/strong> Of the countries reported, India is the highest. Read the 85% together with the explainer in the infographic: it is a share of internet-connected respondents, not of all Indians.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

What people actually use AI for<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Across all 15 countries, the most common use is a chatbot for general health advice (33%). Next come AI-enabled wearables (19%), AI nutrition and fitness coaching (13%), explanations of medical results (12%), personal health dashboards (12%), sleep tracking (12%), health apps (11%) and AI mental-health tools (9%). These are global shares as reported by The Week, not India-only figures.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Note:<\/strong> Much of this use is general health information and wellness tracking. It is not the same as choosing a hospital. A person asking a chatbot about a symptom and a person comparing hospitals for a knee replacement are two different journeys.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Younger consumers lead, but not only the young<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Globally, 78% of Gen Z and 71% of Millennials use AI for health. The share is 50% for Gen X and 31% for Baby Boomers (BCG, as reported by The Week). BCG also reports that younger, higher-income and emerging-market consumers are more likely to adopt these tools. The survey does not give India-only age figures, so we cannot say how the 85% splits by age in India.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

AI is the first step. Patients still want a human.<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

BCG finds that most respondents prefer AI-supported care from a human over a human alone, and that consumers are wary of AI replacing clinicians. As reported by The Week, 18% believe AI could replace a human for basic care, and 22% are comfortable with AI triaging an emergency such as a heart attack. Only 16% know that their own doctors use AI.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Dr Rajiv Kovil, a diabetologist at Zandra Healthcare, put the pattern plainly: \"AI has now become the first consultation, and the doctor is the final confirmation.\" BCG's text says consumers often use AI as a first step before seeing a clinician. Note:<\/strong> the survey figure itself does not measure how many people do this.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

AI-related searches in India grew 154% in 2025<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Kantar's India in Search 2026 report, based on Google search data from January to December 2025, shows AI-related searches in India growing 154% year on year. The same report puts health and wellness searches at 52 million, up 10%. AI searches are growing much faster than health searches. That tells us interest in AI is rising quickly, but it does not tell us how much of it is about health.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Trust is thin<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

In the same BCG survey, 62% of respondents cited data privacy as a key concern with AI for health, and 59% doubted the reliability of AI-generated medical advice. These two figures cover all 15 countries, not India alone. Dr Kovil adds a local point: healthcare data in India is messy and not interoperable, which creates security and reliability problems. Trust is thin. That is the opening for hospitals.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

What BCG says providers should do<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

BCG sets out four steps for health systems to act on within 12 to 24 months:

  1. Do not be too cautious.<\/strong> Experiment within responsible-AI guardrails and be open with patients about where AI is used.<\/li>
  2. Put validated AI in the digital front door.<\/strong> Offer secure, personalised tools so that patients have a reason to prefer them over a general chatbot.<\/li>
  3. Let patients grant AI tools access to their data<\/strong> through a controlled \"data front door\", with strong identity checks.<\/li>
  4. Decide how to partner with consumer AI services.<\/strong> BCG mentions generative engine optimisation, that is, making sure AI tools describe your organisation correctly.<\/li><\/ol>For context, BCG reports that 22% of US healthcare organisations have implemented domain-specific AI tools, a sevenfold rise over 2024. That is a US figure. We do not have a comparable India figure.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

    What this means for hospital marketing and MVT teams<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

    This section is my reading of the data, not a finding of the survey.<\/strong>