Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly popular source of health information in the UAE, but doctors are warning residents that chatbots should not replace professional medical care.
Doctors told Khaleej Times that AI can help people understand medical terms, learn about common conditions and prepare questions for a consultation. However, they said it cannot examine patients, review their complete medical history or make reliable decisions about serious treatment.
The warning comes as more people use AI to manage their health. The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health found that 59 percent of respondents in the UAE use AI for health management, compared with a global average of 35 percent.
Dr Birjis Shaikh, a specialist in internal medicine and head of the emergency department at Aster Cedars Hospital and Clinic in Jebel Ali, said patients increasingly use AI to ask about symptoms, abnormal blood test results, antibiotics, medicines and possible illnesses.
She said AI can provide useful general information about conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma. It can also explain routine blood tests and offer general guidance on diet and exercise.
Doctors, however, said there are important limits. AI should not be used to diagnose serious illnesses, interpret complicated scans or pathology reports, prescribe medicines or make major treatment decisions.
Certain symptoms should prompt people to seek immediate medical attention rather than ask another question through a chatbot. These include chest pain or pressure, particularly when it spreads to the arm, jaw, back or shoulder, as well as severe breathing problems, seizures, loss of consciousness and sudden weakness or numbness.
Sudden difficulty speaking, vision problems, severe headaches, major bleeding, blue lips or fingertips, high fever accompanied by confusion or breathing difficulties, severe abdominal pain and serious allergic reactions are also warning signs.
Dr Shaikh recalled treating a patient who had experienced fever and coughing for five days but continued using home remedies and medicines to control the symptoms. The patient eventually sought medical help on the sixth day and was diagnosed with pneumonia, requiring hospital admission.
Dr Najeeb Salah Abdulrahman, a specialist gastroenterologist at International Modern Hospital Dubai, said AI can be particularly useful for explaining complicated medical language.
He said patients can use it to understand terminology in medical reports, learn about conditions and prepare questions for doctors. However, symptoms often have multiple possible causes and require information from examinations, medical history, blood tests, scans or other investigations.
Abdulrahman advised patients to use AI to help them ask better questions rather than relying on it for a final diagnosis.
Despite the growing use of AI, trust in doctors remains strong in the UAE. The Edelman survey found that about 89 percent of respondents said they trusted their doctor to tell them the truth about health issues.
Doctors said AI can support patients in understanding health information, but serious symptoms still require assessment by a qualified medical professional.
