The tool, named What People Suggest, allowed users to get advice and tips from strangers about health queries. The platform was hoped to use the “potential of AI to transform health outcomes across the globe”.

The feature allowed users to receive personalised, user-generated health suggestions, appearing above traditional search results. 

Google has removed the feature, with a spokesperson saying the decision had nothing to do with quality or safety, but rather focused on simplifying the search page. 

However, the update has sparked scepticism given increasing concerns over the legitimacy of health recommendations made by AI tools. 

OpenAI previously published a report suggesting 40 million of its US citizens were using its platform, ChatGPT, for health advice daily. The OpenAI report noted reasons people have used AI in their health research, with over half confirming they use OpenAI to ‘Check or explore symptoms’ and ‘Ask questions at any time of day’. 

This points to a broader element of convenience that AI offers its users.

AI-driven health tools offer advice at a time when the UK faces long NHS wait times and the US struggles with an often prohibitively expensive healthcare system, providing users with a convenient and accessible alternative. However, users must be cautious of outputs, given AI’s tendency to hallucinate or provide inaccurate information. 

The Guardian investigation suggested people were potentially being harmed by the Google feature, by prioritising peer-generated advice above traditional search results. The findings were said to be shown to 2 billion people in a month, ahead of potentially more legitimate health information sources. 

Google said the platform was designed to allow other users with similar lived health experiences to share their knowledge. An article written by Google’s chief health officer, Dr. Karen DeSalvo, said: “While people come to Search to find reliable medical information from experts, they also value hearing from others who have similar experiences”.

The Guardian suggests that Google has avoided bringing publicity to the decision to remove the feature, with no public announcement confirmed thus far. 

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Google rejected notions that the feature may have been removed due to health or safety concerns telling the Guardian: “we continue to help people find reliable health information from a range of sources, including forums with first-person perspectives that people find incredibly useful.”

With this comment, Google highlighted that users have long relied on platforms such as Reddit or health discussion boards, which have become more widely accepted sources of advice. While these platforms can provide useful advice and reassurance, they have also been criticised for providing unverified health information. 

The removal of the feature mirrors that of other AI platform backtracks in recent months, as tech companies navigate a rapidly evolving and volatile landscape.

Whilst technology can be a powerful tool in advancing the medical field, it is imperative that the information it provides is accurate, trustworthy and drawn from high-quality sources to ensure users are not put at risk.