I tested America.gov, the government’s AI chatbot, on health questions

September 30, 2026 / 1:33 PM EDT / CBS News

On Tuesday at the Make America Healthy Again summit, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that artificial intelligence can give patients "a second opinion that is much better informed than any doctor in the country." He said it has the power to "free us from medical tyranny." He also said public officials who tell Americans to defer to experts will "never ever again" be able to dominate them: "If somebody tells you that a vaccine will prevent transmission and infection, or you need to take it to protect your grandmother, A.I. may say it actually doesn't do that."

The same day, the White House launched America.gov. It promises "simple answers only from official government sources." Its health answers cite agencies Kennedy runs: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

So I asked America.gov for a second opinion. I sent it 37 questions. The answers were often complicated, because the official sources no longer agree with each other.

An executive order signed Sept. 29 makes the site "a single…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/