The AI summary may not always pull accurate and appropriate information, and it may source information from non-UK websites. Healthcare differs from country to country so this might give you inappropriate information. It also creates a ‘no click’ approach which may stop people from finding out further information and being signposted to support like our Ask Eve Nurse service. 

With the Patient Information Forum (PIF) and 70 other PIF member organisations including Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer  and NHS organisations we have been worried about the impact of AI summaries on health information. 
 
So, we did a quick test. We searched for ‘vaginal cancer symptoms and tests’ and immediately found inaccurate information. The summary listed a PAP test as a test for vaginal cancer. A PAP test is the old type of cervical screening that was used in England Scotland or Wells before 2019 and is still used in America. It is a test to prevent cervical cancer by looking for signs of cell changes which can be treated or monitored to prevent cancer from developing. It isn’t a test to detect cancer, and certainly isn’t a test to detect vaginal cancer. This is completely wrong information.   

The AI summary also changed when we did the exact same search again, and comes up with a different response each time and pulls from different sources. 

 
Lots of charities shared similar inaccurate results on the Google AI summary when looking for information into their disease area. 

There’s a little tip you can use when looking for health information to help you find trusted and reliable information. 
 
When searching on google, add ‘-AI’ to the end of your search. For example: ‘vaginal cancer symptoms and tests -AI’. It will show the search results without an AI summary. You can then look through the suggested websites for one which is reputable and trustworthy, and relevant here in the UK, like the NHS website, Cancer Research UK or ours, eveappeal.org.uk. 
 
When looking at information on a charity website, keep an eye out for the PIF TICK. That’s the logo to show a health charity has been approved by the Patient Information Forum and their health information creation process meets their standards. It’s a sign that you can trust the health information and it has been created with medical professional sign off and people with lived experience have inputted into it.