ChatGPT & Reddit increasingly used for health search

Issue 133 l Eka’s Weekly Roundup (5 September 2025)

Sep 05, 2025

How many women do you think use ChatGPT for health queries?

We surveyed 1,000 women with YouGov this summer to better understand where they ask key health questions (Google, GPT, or looking on the NHS website).

We’ll be publishing more insights on the survey in the coming weeks, but for now, scroll on to find the answer!

Trust channels still dominate… 🗞️

Across the sample, the top three sources to find health information were still the NHS website, GP/Pharmacy, and Doctors. More than 70% of all women say they use this in part or in whole to access health information.

About 7% of all women in the UK use GPT in part or in whole to access health info, slightly behind online forums like Reddit.

…. but look a bit closer and you’ll see the rise of GPT & Reddit.

Looking at age cohorts, we can see a clear swing towards GPT and Online Forums like Reddit. Today, 18-24 year olds use ChatGPT twice as much as the average (14% vs. 7%). Online forums also see a significant shift towards younger audiences.

This isn’t unexpected - ChatGPT usage is about 2% on a daily basis in the UK (across all themes) and 7% on a monthly basis. But the age split is super interesting.

You’ll also notice that younger people look to be informing themselves more in general across all categories (except maybe NHS and GPs). We’ll be publishing more on that in later editions.

For now, happy searching, and think about trying out a new channel!