What do patients think about the use of AI scribes at appointments?
In the 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to three 'big shifts', including transitioning the NHS from analogue to digital, and making greater use of technology. Recent moves to achieve this shift have focused on embracing AI technology, including AI scribes.
What are AI scribes and what is their role in healthcare?
AI scribes (also known as ambient voice technologies, or AVT) are digital tools that automatically record and transcribe conversations. They also produce summaries that can be added to patient records and create administrative documents. Following goals set out in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, NHS organisations have been told to set up AI scribes in clinical settings ‘at pace’.
A major study across nine NHS services in London found these tools reduce appointment length, increase patient-doctor interaction, and allow services to see more patients.
While these findings are promising, they may not reflect patient experience and opinion on the use of AI scribes in their healthcare. As the Nuffield Trust put it, ‘we have some understanding of the outputs (minutes saved), but very little understanding of the outcomes (what those minutes enable)’.
How do patients feel about AI scribes?
Healthwatch England launched research into the use of AI scribes after patients shared concerns with their local Healthwatch that AI scribes were causing errors in medical records. The research aimed to understand whether patients were aware of AI scribes being used, whether they supported their widespread adoption in the NHS, and their experiences of this emerging technology.
Healthwatch England commissioned YouGov to conduct nationally representative polling of 4,039 adults from 16 to 27 April 2026, and asked members of the public to share their experiences in their own words.
The research found:
- A preference for doctors to seek consent before using AI scribes. Some people felt it breached their trust if they found out AI scribes had been used without their knowledge.
- Concerns about AI on sensitive issues. We found that almost half (48%) are somewhat or very comfortable with AI scribe use for a routine health check. However, this proportion fell when talking about sensitive topics such as domestic abuse (23%), mental health issues (28%) and sexual health issues (29%).
- Concerns around accuracy. Over two-thirds (69%) told us they would feel more comfortable with AI scribes if there was a clear commitment from the healthcare professional to check the accuracy of the content the scribe produced.
- Most support for administrative uses. People are generally more comfortable with AI scribes being used for routine administrative and documentation tasks than for functions perceived as involving clinical judgement or sensitive patient interactions.
- Public opinion remains divided on NHS rollout. As the Government plans to roll out AI scribing tools in appointments, public support is split relatively evenly between support and opposition. However, almost twice as many people are strongly opposed to their use (21%) as are strongly supportive (11%).
What factors impact people’s opinions on AI scribes?
The research found that some groups of people are more positive about AI scribes than others.
- Overall, men were more supportive, comfortable and trusting of AI scribe use in healthcare than women or people who identified differently.
- Those who lived in London were consistently more supportive, positive and trusting than those who lived elsewhere.
- Those who were more financially comfortable tended to be more comfortable with the use of AI scribes.
- Disabled people were more likely to be sceptical and uncomfortable than those without disabilities.
- Younger people were the most unsure.
