More British adults are open to getting health advice from AI than a year ago, but most still don’t trust it, according to the UK results of the STADA Health Report 2026, a study of 2,001 British adults. Around half of UK adults would now consider an AI health consultation – up from four in 10 a year ago. Yet the UK is still the country in Europe least likely to actually use AI for health.
The most common reason people give for rejecting an AI consultation is simple: they don’t trust it, a view held by 61 per cent of Brits – the highest of any of the countries surveyed – and over half of all UK adults say they would never trust an AI diagnosis as much as a doctor. But the picture is not straightforwardly cautious: the UK ranks first in Europe for wanting AI to take notes during GP consultations (42 per cent) and first for wanting AI to manage medication schedules (45 per cent). Brits, it seems, are open to an AI secretary – they just don’t want an AI doctor.
The STADA Health Report 2026 surveyed 2,001 UK adults as part of a wider European study of 19,514 adults across 20 countries, examining attitudes to healthcare systems, prevention, mental health, self-medication and the role of AI in health. The annual report is published by STADA Thornton & Ross, the company behind Covonia®, Cetraben®, Hedrin®, Savlon®, Zoflora® and Natures Aid alongside generics, biosimilars and specialty medicines.
NHS satisfaction is recovering – but not for everyone
The report also finds that overall satisfaction with the NHS is recovering – up from 62 per cent in 2025 to 65 per cent in 2026, continuing a climb back from a low of 56 per cent in 2024. But the recovery is not even across age groups. For the second year running, it’s people in midlife, not pensioners, who feel least well served: in 2026, 45–54-year-olds are the least satisfied age group at 56 per cent, while 25–34-year-olds are the most satisfied at 78 per cent, a 22-point gap. The same pattern held in 2025.
Burnout is the new baseline – not a worsening crisis
On mental health, seven in 10 UK adults (70 per cent) say they have experienced burnout at some point, almost identical to the 69.6 per cent recorded in 2025. Rather than a worsening crisis, burnout looks to have become a fixed feature of life for most adults: at the same time, the proportion rating their own mental health as “good” rose from 61.5 per cent to 65 per cent.
Financial pressure remains the dominant cause; over a third of UK adults (36 per cent) cite financial worries as a factor in their mental health – unchanged from 2025 and well above the European average. Work-related stress was cited by around 16 per cent, also broadly flat year on year.
Craig Shaw, general manager for STADA UK, said:
“Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday life, so it’s no surprise that more people are open to using it to support their health. But the findings from the STADA Health Report 2026 show that trust remains the deciding factor. While around half of UK adults would now consider an AI consultation, most still have reservations, and Britons are more cautious than any other country in Europe when it comes to using AI for healthcare.
“That caution is understandable. Health is personal, and people want confidence that the advice they receive is accurate, reliable and tailored to them. AI has enormous potential to complement healthcare and make information more accessible, but technology works best when it supports the human expertise and empathy that people value.
“The report also paints a broader picture of a nation that is adapting. Satisfaction with the NHS is improving and, although burnout remains something most adults have experienced, people are feeling more positive about their mental health than they were a year ago. These findings suggest that resilience is growing, but they also remind us that trust, accessibility and personal support remain at the heart of good healthcare.”
NHS GP, health broadcaster, best-selling author and cancer survivor, Dr Anisha Patel, added: “This year’s findings from the 2026 STADA Health Report paint a fascinating picture of how healthcare is evolving in the UK. It shows that people are embracing new technology and taking greater ownership of their health, but they’re also telling us something very important: trust, human connection and accessible healthcare professionals still matter enormously.
“As a GP, I’m particularly encouraged to see the growing role of community pharmacists alongside GPs in supporting patients to get the right care at the right time.
“One of the most encouraging findings for me is that people are becoming more proactive about their health. Preventative healthcare, and trusted conversations with healthcare professionals all have an increasingly important role to play in keeping people healthier for longer. The challenge now is ensuring our health system has the capacity to meet that demand while addressing the issue of burnout that is so prevalent across the population – a challenge we cannot ignore.”
