Is health advice from TikTok or ChatGPT better?

Although the internet has flourished over the last 20 years and is jam-packed with interesting, entertaining and useful content, the unregulated nature of who can upload information makes it a tricky place to navigate – especially when it comes to important topics such as health.

While nothing can replace a medically trained human, if you are going to use the internet to research health topics, some sources of information are better than others.

TikTok

On TikTok, as with all social media platforms, content is uploaded by the user themselves.

So, between hilarious clips of baby animals and viral dance routines you might come across people giving health advice. Some might be interesting, some might be wacky, and some might even sound accurate.

But how do you know what to believe?

As with all information on the internet, you need to do a bit of detective work and check the source.

• Who is giving the information and where did they get it?
• What is their motive?
• Are they being paid to sell you something, or are they advocating for the condition and trying to educate their followers?
• Do they have a reputable source to back up what they are saying, such as government health advice or a research study from a reputable publisher?

Even if they claim to be a health professional, it is worth putting their name into Google and checking their online profiles. Different countries have different medical systems, and the self-assigned title of ‘doctor’ in their profile name doesn’t necessarily mean they are medically trained.

ChatGPT

With the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into all aspects of modern technology over the last few years, it would be easy to think that using it to check your health symptoms is safe and reliable.

But research has shown that AI chatbots such as ChatGPT can be unreliable. This is because they often produce confident but incorrect information, miss medical emergencies or red flags, reflect systemic biases (norms that disadvantage certain groups of people) in their training data, and give advice that sounds personalised but lacks important clinical context.

Keeping your information private

When you enter personal information into an open-access (public) generative AI chatbot such as ChatGPT, you have limited control over how that information is used or what the company that owns the chatbot does with it. It is important that you don’t put your personal medical information into chatbots. Though AI is having a transformational effect in many industries and improving all sorts of aspects of daily living, it is not yet ready to act as your personal health guru.

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how will it impact medical care? Read more about AI and medical care in the Winter 2025 edition of Bridge Magazine bit.ly/health_ai. See original research on health information from AI chatbots in Continence Health Australia’s research journal the ANZCJ bit.ly/ANZCJ_ai.

Are some chatbots better than others?

Nothing can replace a medically trained human. But if you want to find out more about specific conditions, or treatments in general, some AI tools are designed to search and summarise peer-reviewed academic research, such as Consensus.app or openevidence.com.

These types of tools reduce the risk of inaccurate information, but are still not recommended for personal health advice.

To learn more about the peer-reviewed research process, read From the Research in the Spring 2025 edition of Bridge Magazine.

So, what should I ask ChatGPT?

Take the quiz below to find out.

Question: Which of these questions is safe to put into an AI chatbot?

As always, the best thing to do is consult a health professional about your specific health concerns, rather than looking at generic information online.

Putting ChatGPT to the test with Dr Roberts

We asked Dr Susan Roberts, GP and clinical editor for Mid and North Coast HealthPathways and Bridge Magazine, to see how an answer from ChatGPT compared to real medical advice.

Question we asked ChatGPT: “Why am I leaking urine”

Dr Roberts’ thoughts:

“ChatGPT’s answer is broadly accurate but doesn’t establish what’s causing your leakage, or what you should do about it.

Incontinence is a symptom, not a diagnosis. In an appointment with a patient that asked this question, I’d start by asking about your symptoms. Do you leak when you cough, sneeze or exercise? Do you get a sudden urge and not make it to the toilet? Are you having trouble emptying your bladder?

Did your symptoms begin gradually or suddenly? I’d also ask about symptoms that might seem unrelated, like changes in your bowels or numbness or weakness.

Leakage with coughing points me in a different direction from sudden overwhelming urgency. Constant dribbling with a bladder that still feels full changes my thinking again. You can also have more than one type of incontinence. Sometimes the history suggests the likely cause; other times I’ll need to examine you, test your urine or check whether your bladder is emptying properly.

Sometimes, something you tell me changes the consultation immediately. If your bladder felt full but you couldn’t pass urine, or you had new bladder or bowel problems with leg weakness or numbness around the buttocks or genitals, I’d phone the hospital, speak to a specialist, arrange urgent assessment and give you a letter explaining my concerns.

I also want to understand what the symptoms mean for you, how they affect your life and what your goals of treatment are. ChatGPT can list treatments, but my role is to work out which options best fit your situation and goals.

One person’s goal may be returning to the gym without worrying about accidents; another’s may be spending time with family without constantly worrying about the nearest toilet. Mobility, work, caring responsibilities, and support at home can also affect what is practical. I’d also explore whether your symptoms are affecting your confidence or mood and offer support if needed.

With urge incontinence, someone mobile and independent may focus on bladder training, while someone who struggles to reach the toilet may also need practical changes and extra support.

I’d arrange follow-up to check whether the plan is helping or your symptoms have changed, and adjust it if needed. ChatGPT can give you a useful overview of potential causes and treatments. A GP consultation goes further: working out the cause, understanding what matters to you, recognising anything urgent, finding a plan that works for you and checking that it actually helps.

Where should you ask questions about your continence and other health symptoms?

As always, the best thing to do is consult a health professional about your specific health concerns, rather than looking at generic information online.

If you cannot pass urine, have sudden-onset severe pain or any other emergency, call 000 or attend the emergency department at your closest hospital.

For a free confidential chat about your bladder control, bowel control, or pelvic health call the National Continence Helpline on 1800 33 00 66, Monday to Friday 8am-8pm AEST. Average wait time is under two minutes and you will always speak with an experienced nurse continence specialist.

For health advice call 1800 MEDICARE (1800 633 422) or use the Healthdirect online Symptom Checker.

Also in this edition

• Carer of the Year
• Mad about materials
• Finding a group to support you
• A day in the life of someone with neurogenic urinary retention
• What is neurogenic urinary retention?
• Looking after your bowels in hospital
• Disabilities: talking to your GP about incontinence
• Alcohol and incontinence – what’s the connection?