Patients are open to using AI agents to assist with tasks like scheduling and billing, but they overwhelmingly prefer AI tools that reside within a secure physician portal, a new Salesforce study finds.
Patients are three times more likely to trust an AI agent when it is integrated into a clinical system rather than when it is provided as a public chatbot. According to Salesforce research, this clearly shows that healthcare organization accountability and provider context are central to the acceptance of healthcare AI.
The company surveyed more than 3,200 patients across eight countries to understand how the rise of agent AI is changing consumer expectations. Salesforce conducted the survey between March 24 and April 10 among patients in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
A Salesforce study from two years ago found that as of early 2024, only 2% of U.S. adults would rely on AI for medical information.
Currently, 61% of patients worldwide say they are comfortable using agent AI in healthcare settings, and 64% are willing to share their complete medical history with AI for faster diagnosis. And this reflects what’s happening on the provider side. Another Salesforce study found that 71% of U.S. healthcare professionals predict that agent AI will be essential to healthcare operations within five years.
Patients face ongoing friction and challenges when accessing care. 46% of patients delay treatment because the digital process is too complicated, and 58% skip necessary treatment because it is too difficult to schedule. Almost half (49%) hang up after being on hold for 10 minutes in a doctor’s office, seek care elsewhere, or avoid care altogether. Two in three people (66%) have run out of medication while waiting for a prescription refill to be approved. Additionally, research shows that 90% of people wish their doctor had been automatically notified after an ER visit.
“We all know that patients are leveraging AI in many ways in their daily lives, but especially when it comes to healthcare, I think it’s very difficult for patients to understand and understand who the right provider is, what their next steps are, what to do about any symptoms they may have, so it’s understandable that patients would reach for every tool they can to really understand their next steps,” the University of Chicago Medicine told Fierce Healthcare.
Advances in agent AI open up opportunities for providers, as AI tools can extend support beyond traditional business hours, reduce administrative complexity, and improve access, according to a Salesforce report.
However, patients view governance and provider trust as non-negotiable prerequisites and do not want AI to operate alone.
Nearly nine in 10 (89%) patients say a clear “human escalation” option is essential to trusting AI administrative support, and 90% expect the same from AI medical support. And 91% say patients should have the right to opt out of AI-driven clinical recommendations completely.
Patients’ biggest concern with AI in healthcare is accuracy, followed by data privacy. 36% of patients cited diagnostic and treatment accuracy as their primary concern, and 30% cited health data privacy and security.
Privacy, security, and compliance are fundamental priorities for healthcare organizations. “Trust and transparency are the cornerstones of the patient experience, and we’re not going to compromise on that,” said Bauer, of the University of Chicago School of Medicine.
“If you think about the relationship with a doctor, it’s really based on trust, and I think healthcare does a really great job of that. Patients have had patient portals for years and are accustomed to them as a secure and compliant way to access medical information. I think that trust with patients that we’ve worked hard to build will continue in this world where new technologies are emerging through AI,” he said.
Data shows that patients are becoming increasingly accustomed to AI handling logistics and navigational tasks like billing and rescheduling, especially after hours, and to avoid wait times, nearly half (49%) of patients prefer an AI agent over a human, but only if human backup is visible and accessible. 67% say they would rather receive 24/7 AI support than wait for someone to answer the phone during business hours.
“Patients don’t want AI to replace doctors. They want AI to safely replace wait times and friction. When technology is built on trust, healthcare can finally move as fast as we do,” said Dr. Sophia Saleem, Chief Health Officer, HLS Go To Market, Salesforce.
“Health systems need to be ready to take advantage of the tools that are out there, but they need to do it in a way that fosters the trust that patients have in the health system, and patients feel that their information and data is safe and their conversations are safe, and that’s exactly what we’re working on and doing at Chicago Medicine,” Bauer said.
He added, “As we are on a mission to make access and care easier, seamless, and frictionless for patients, the focus of AI is on administrative and access-related interactions and not as a substitute for the clinical judgment of physicians and care teams.”
Chicago Medicine’s customer service hub, the Access Center, handles nearly 3 million calls annually. “When we looked at the data, we found that initially 7 We found two use cases: These are calls that can be repetitive information that team members have to repeat over and over again, perhaps easily coming out to team members about how to schedule and address complex issues with patients. “So we saw an opportunity to automate some routine inquiries, so our team members can spend more time helping patients with complex needs and having high-touch interactions.” “We initially focused on these seven use cases, several of which have been implemented to date.”
UChicago Medicine works with Salesforce to use AI agents to answer web chat inquiries about directions to clinics and facilities and appointment confirmations.
“We are about to begin canceling and rescheduling patients’ primary care appointments in earnest, but other plans include additional scheduling for patients, including new patients, capturing and routing requests for medical advice to the appropriate clinical team so they can be acted upon, and helping patients navigate prescription refills,” Bauer said.
AI agents can provide patients with consumer-grade service on par with what consumers expect from other digital experiences.
“Salesforce has provided us with a platform that helps us connect with patients through patient engagement channels, manage workflows, and support a consistent experience across digital and human touch points. It also allows us to implement automation within a framework that incorporates the privacy, security, and operational requirements we have in place,” said Bauer.
Using AI tools to reduce friction can improve patient loyalty, a Salesforce study found.
44% of patients say they would be more likely to stay in-network with a provider for follow-up care if they had a 24/7 agent assistant, and 65% of patients with long-term conditions said having a 24/7 digital helper would make managing their health significantly easier.
Salesforce executives say the findings highlight that patients are ready to embrace agent AI, but only if it’s built on a transparent, controlled foundation with clear escalation paths, audit trails, and provider-assisted deployment.
“While technology is advancing rapidly and innovation appears to be moving faster, and in some cases faster than some regulatory frameworks, our view is that healthcare organizations have a responsibility to thoughtfully approach these technologies in alignment with evolving regulatory requirements, rather than sitting on the sidelines,” Bauer said.
Bauer said there is also an opportunity to leverage AI agents to more proactively engage patients to fill gaps in care, such as encouraging patients to get an A1C test or get a vaccine. “Being able to automate that through this technology is a huge win, I think, not only for the patient, but also for the physician and the team members supporting them,” he said.
