Quality of AI chatbot-generated information on hypersensitivity pneumonitis for clinical and patient use

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a complex, immüne mediated interstitial lung disease in which accurate diagnosis and long term management require integration of clinical, radiologic, and exposure-related information. Patients increasingly use artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbots to obtain disease related information; however, the quality, readability, and patient usability of such content remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the quality, reliability, readability, and patient-centered usability of AI chatbot generated information on HP.

Using Google Trends, we identified four of the most frequently searched patient-oriented questions regarding HP: (1) What is HP and what causes it? (2) What are the clinical features of HP? (3) How is HP treated? (4) How is HP diagnosed? These questions were submitted verbatim to eight AI chatbots (ChatGPT-5.1, Claude 3, Microsoft Copilot, DeepSeek V3, Gemini Pro, Grok 4, Kimi K2, Perplexity AI). A total of 32 responses were independently evaluated in a blinded fashion by four pulmonology professors specializing in interstitial lung diseases. Content quality and reliability were assessed using DISCERN; understandability and actionability with PEMAT-P; global written readability with the Written Readability Rating (WRR); and structural readability with the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL).

All chatbot outputs required advanced literacy, with FKGL scores ranging from 20.17 to 29.07 and a mean of approximately 24-25, indicating college or postgraduate reading level. No chatbot produced content within the recommended patient-appropriate range (FKGL ≤ 8). WRR scores declined with increasing clinical complexity, from 67.85 for definitional content (Q1) to 51.227 for diagnostic explanations (Q4). DISCERN scores varied substantially across models (35.001-57.103), with most chatbots falling into the "fair-good" range, reflecting partially reliable but incomplete information. [..] Conclusion: AI chatbots can generate clinically rich explanations of HP but currently produce content that is too complex and insufficiently actionable for most patients. [..].