
Let's say there's some new medicine that just came out last week, you will not find it on ChatGPT.” “Whereas ChatGPT is trained every few months. “Google has more up-to-date information, and covers everything,” Hristidis said. Half of the queries submitted by the researchers sought information about the disease processes, while the other half sought information on services that could assist patients and their families. "Research also shows that caregivers of people living with dementia are among the most engaged stakeholders in pursuing health information, since they often are tasked with making decisions for their loved one's care," Ruggiano said. The researchers focused on dementia because more than 6 million Americans are impacted by Alzheimer's disease or a related condition, said study co-author Nicole Ruggiano, a professor of social work at the University of Alabama.

In their study, Hristidis and his co-authors submitted 60 queries to both Google and ChatGPT that would be typical submissions from people living with dementia and their families. “If you pick the best features of both, you can build a better system, and I think that this is what will happen in the next couple of years,” said Vagelis Hristidis, a professor of computer science and engineering in UCR’s Bourns College of Engineering.

ChatGPT, meanwhile, provides more objective information, but it can be outdated and lacks the sources of its information in its narrative responses.

Google provides the most current information, but query results are skewed by service and product providers seeking customers, the researchers found.
