Google adds user suggestions to health search results alongside medical advice

Google is expanding its AI-powered health information capabilities by adding a new feature to Search that will display user suggestions from online discussions alongside medical information from trusted sources. This move represents a significant shift in how Google presents health-related search results, combining traditional authoritative content with crowd-sourced experiences. The feature will be available to mobile users in the US, potentially changing how people gather information about their health concerns.

The big picture: Google is adding a new “What people suggest” section to health-related search results, sourcing information from online discussions to complement medical advice from established healthcare sources.

• The feature will display suggestions based on user experiences from platforms like Twitter (now X), Reddit, and Quora, summarized into quick notes with dropdown arrows for additional information.
• This AI-powered section will sit alongside existing health information components like the AI Overview and “Related health conditions” sections from trusted medical sources.

How it works: When users search for medical symptoms like “Why does my leg hurt?”, Google will analyze online discussions to extract and summarize potentially helpful suggestions.

• The new section will clearly indicate where suggestions originate by displaying social media platform icons at the top of the box.
• Each suggestion will include source credits, acknowledging that user-generated content may not carry the same credibility as professional medical advice.

Why this matters: The new feature represents Google’s attempt to balance authoritative medical information with the shared experiences of internet users discussing similar health issues.

• By incorporating discussion-based suggestions, Google is acknowledging the value many users place on peer experiences when researching health concerns.
• The approach could help users discover potential remedies or explanations that might not appear in clinical literature but have been helpful to others with similar symptoms.

Between the lines: While potentially valuable, Google’s inclusion of user-generated health suggestions creates risks of surfacing inaccurate or even harmful information.

• Google acknowledges that despite AI filtering, there remains a “non-zero” chance that joke posts or bad information might appear in the suggestions.
• The company appears to be mitigating this risk by clearly separating user suggestions from authoritative medical content and providing source attribution.

What’s next: The “What people suggest” feature is rolling out exclusively to mobile devices in the United States, with no announced timeline for desktop or international expansion.