OpenAI has moved closer to its vision of a personal AI “super-assistant” with the announcement of ChatGPT Health. The new feature introduces a dedicated, sandboxed environment within the ChatGPT interface designed specifically for medical and wellness inquiries, marking the company’s most substantial push into the healthcare sector to date.
The launch comes as OpenAI reveals staggering internal data: more than 230 million people globally already use ChatGPT for health and wellness questions every week. By creating a specialized “Health” space, OpenAI aims to transition from general AI responses to highly personalized, data-driven health support.
A “Sandboxed” Privacy Model
The cornerstone of today’s announcement is the architectural separation of health-related data. Recognizing the sensitivity of medical information, OpenAI has built ChatGPT Health as an isolated environment.
- Dedicated Space: Conversations, uploaded medical files, and connected app data are stored in a separate silo from regular chats.
- No Training on Data: OpenAI explicitly stated that data and conversations within the Health space will not be used to train its foundation models.
- Purpose-Built Encryption: The company has implemented layered protections and purpose-built encryption to ensure that even within the platform, health data is compartmentalized.
- One-Way Context: While ChatGPT Health can draw limited context from your general chats (like knowing you are an avid hiker), information from the Health space never flows back into standard conversations.
Personalized Insights via b.well and Apple Health
The power of ChatGPT Health lies in its ability to “ground” its AI intelligence in a user’s actual medical history. Through a partnership with the digital health platform b.well Connected Health, U.S. users can now securely link their electronic health records (EHR) directly to the AI.
This integration allows the chatbot to analyze lab results, summarize visit notes, and help users prepare for upcoming appointments with specific, data-backed questions for their doctors. In addition to clinical records, users can sync a wide array of wellness apps, including:
- Fitness & Activity: Apple Health, Peloton, and AllTrails.
- Nutrition: MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers, and Instacart.
- Advanced Diagnostics: Function Health.
By synthesizing data from these sources, the AI can provide tailored advice such as suggesting meal plans based on recent blood work or adjusting workout recommendations based on sleep patterns and recovery metrics.
“Support, Not Replace”
Despite the advanced capabilities, OpenAI was careful to frame the tool as a supplemental resource rather than a medical authority. “ChatGPT Health is designed to support, not replace, medical care,” the company stated in its release. It is not intended for formal diagnosis or treatment.
To ensure safety and accuracy, OpenAI spent two years collaborating with more than 260 physicians across 60 countries. These experts provided over 600,000 individual feedback points to refine how the AI communicates, focusing on clarity and knowing exactly when to escalate a user to a human professional. The model was evaluated using HealthBench, a clinical assessment framework OpenAI introduced in 2025 to measure AI performance against real-world medical standards.
Addressing the “Crisis of Access”
Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, highlighted the human element behind the technology in a statement today. Simo noted that the healthcare system is often a “worsening pain point,” characterized by “portalitis” , the fragmentation caused by having data scattered across dozens of different provider portals.
“ChatGPT Health is another step toward turning ChatGPT into a personal super-assistant,” Simo said. By unifying records and AI insights, the goal is to empower patients to be more “informed, prepared, and confident” when navigating their health journeys.
Availability and Rollout
The feature is launching today in a phased rollout:
- Waitlist: Access is initially being granted to a small group of early users to further refine the experience.
- Eligibility: It will be available to users on Free, Plus, Team, and Enterprise plans.
- Geography: The initial launch covers most global regions, though it is currently unavailable in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, and the United Kingdom due to local regulatory complexities.
- Platforms: Available on Web and iOS starting today, with Android support expected in the coming weeks.
As AI continues to permeate daily life, OpenAI’s dedicated health space represents a bold bet: that users are ready to trust an algorithm with their most private data in exchange for a healthcare experience that finally feels personal.
