As NHS England enters its second year of delivering its 10-Year Health Plan, one of its three defining ambitions – shifting from analogue to digital – is beginning to move from strategy to implementation. From AI-powered tools to more personalised care, technology has the potential to improve access, ease pressure on frontline services, and help people take greater control of their health.
But technology alone won't determine whether that vision succeeds.
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health UK Report points to a more fundamental challenge: people are becoming less confident in their ability to find answers and make informed health decisions. Confidence has fallen seven percentage points in just one year, despite respondents living in the most information-rich healthcare environment we've ever known.
For me, that's the most important finding in this year's research.
We often assume that more information leads to better decisions. Yet today's reality is quite different. People are navigating a constant flow of advice from news outlets, social media, creators, healthcare professionals, and, increasingly, AI. Access to information has expanded dramatically, but confidence in knowing what to trust has not.
That point was reinforced at an event we recently hosted in partnership with Reuters, reviewing the latest Digital News Report findings alongside a panel conversation reviewing news consumption habits, where trust is being won and lost and how communicators should adapt in response. There we heard how social and video platforms have overtaken traditional news sources for many audiences, AI is becoming another gateway to information, and trust in news continues to decline. While the research focuses on journalism, the implications reach much further. The way people discover, evaluate, and act on information is changing across every sector – including healthcare.
The Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health findings suggest we are already seeing the consequences.
Trust in the media to report accurate health information now stands at just 39% in the UK. At the same time, nearly two-thirds of people believe at least one of six divisive health claims about foods, vaccines and medicines to be true – from misconceptions about vaccines and fluoride to debates about nutrition – illustrating just how difficult it has become to navigate competing sources of information.
Against that backdrop, AI is finding an audience.
One in five Britons use AI to manage some aspect of their health, from understanding symptoms to interpreting test results and exploring treatment options. It's tempting to see this simply as a story of rapid technological adoption. I think it's something more revealing: AI is filling a confidence gap.Perhaps the most striking finding isn't that people are turning to AI. It's why. Among those already using AI to manage their health, AI platforms are seen as less judgmental and more sensitive to people's personal circumstances than healthcare professionals. Those are not technical attributes. They are human ones.
AI succeeds because it removes friction. It is immediate, conversational, and available whenever people need it. For some, it also offers a space to ask questions they may hesitate to ask elsewhere. None of this diminishes the role of clinicians. In fact, the research points in the opposite direction.
Nearly nine in ten people in the UK trust their doctor to tell them the truth about health issues and how to protect the public – by far the highest level of trust for any source of health information. AI isn't replacing trusted expertise. It is raising expectations of how that expertise should be experienced: more accessible, more personalised, and easier to understand.
The opportunity presented by AI isn't to replace trusted relationships, but to strengthen them. I was reminded of this recently in conversation with a GP who I met on my way to the Longevity Show. She mused that around a third of her patients are now requesting blood tests before their appointments. They arrive having already reviewed their results, ready to spend the consultation discussing what those results mean in a more informed way. Used well, technology can help patients make the most of the limited time they have with their doctor, better understand medical advice, and feel more confident managing their own health. Used poorly, it risks adding another layer of noise to an already fragmented information environment.
This has important implications not only for healthcare providers, but for everyone communicating about health.
The instinct in complex environments is often to communicate more. More facts. More evidence. More content. But when confidence is declining, the challenge isn't simply a lack of information. It's helping people make sense of it. That's why trust has become the critical ingredient in digital transformation.
The NHS's long-term ambition to build a more digitally enabled health service is the right one. But success will depend on more than the capability of the technology. It will depend on whether people feel confident using it, whether they understand how it supports their care, and whether it strengthens – rather than weakens – the trusted relationships they already have with healthcare professionals.
The most powerful takeaway from this year's Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health is that Britain's healthcare challenge isn't a choice between people and technology. It's about ensuring technology earns trust by supporting the people who already have it.
The future of healthcare will undoubtedly be digital. Whether it is trusted is for us to shape.
Lisa Stone is Co-Lead of Health for the UK.
