Talking to an AI avatar doctor before a real one shows real relief for cancer patients

The first thing most people do today when they feel unwell is ask AI (artificial intelligence) chatbots. They are trying to understand their symptoms, treatment options, or even turning to AI for quick answers. While there are still risks if this is not followed up by a qualified medical consultation, a new study suggests that AI may have a meaningful role to play in healthcare after all.New research presented at the Congress of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO 2026) found that cancer patients who interact with an artificial intelligence (AI) avatar doctor before they meet their real-life consultant feel more knowledgeable and less stressed.Dr Adam Raben, who presented the research, stressed how meeting an AI doctor before a real-life consultation improved cancer patients’ understanding. “We know that patients’ understanding of cancer treatments, like radiotherapy, is essential in making sure they can give informed consent. It also improves patient satisfaction and makes it more likely that they will stick to and complete their course of treatment. Despite doctors’ best efforts, patients often arrive at consultations overwhelmed, anxious and unable to comprehend and retain complex information – particularly in radiation oncology, where treatment concepts can be technically complex,” said Dr Raben, Chair of Radiation Oncology at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute at ChristianaCare in Newark, Delaware, USA.He added, “We wanted to explore whether meeting an AI avatar who looked and sounded like a doctor before their main consultation could allow patients to be more prepared to meet their doctor in real life, helping them to make better decisions about their treatment and reducing their stress.”The researchers worked with a digital technology company to create an AI avatar of a doctor designed to help patients understand radiation treatment options before meeting their real doctors. The study involved 1,464 patients; one group of 506 (34.6%) watched an educational video, and the other 958 (65.4%) watched an avatar-based video that used personalised scripts and illustrations to explain the concepts. Participants were asked to complete a multiple-choice quiz with teach-back to assess whether they understood and retained the material, followed by a standardised satisfaction survey.The researchers found that patients who watched the personalised AI avatar videos showed better understanding of their treatment plan. They had a greater ability to engage with healthcare decisions, and this also reduced stress compared with those who watched the standard educational video. This AI intervention also dramatically improved their hospital satisfaction scores.“We found that patients were very willing to engage with digital educational material before their first radiation oncology visit. Their satisfaction and understanding scores were high overall, but particularly high among those who viewed the AI-avatar-based videos. All the patients completed the quiz, which shows that they were actively engaged with the material, not just watching it,” Dr Raben explained.The researchers are now planning to expand this AI avatar use throughout the treatment journey, and also analyse its impact on anxiety, patients’ confidence in decision-making, and how consultations can be run most efficiently.“AI is already being used to plan and deliver radiotherapy, reducing the burden on healthcare systems, and we know that patients are already using AI to ask about their condition and treatment. Dr Raben’s study is one of the earliest implementations of AI-avatar-based patient education being tested in the clinic, not in a simulated or academic-only environment,” said ESTRO President Professor Matthias Guckenberger from University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, who was not involved in the research.He added, “For people with cancer, the study suggests that engaging with an AI doctor enables patients to arrive at their consultation with a real doctor better prepared, less anxious and more confident in asking informed questions. This should mean that meetings between doctors and their patients will be more productive and more focused on patients’ individual concerns and decision-making. The research also suggests that patients will feel happier overall with the care they receive.”