Do Two AI Physicians Equal One Human Physician in Online Healthcare Consultations?

With the development of technology, two artificial intelligence (AI) physicians collaborating to interact with depressed patients in online healthcare consultations has become possible. However, little is known about whether two AI physicians are perceived to be better than one AI and how two AIs can mitigate the weaknesses of one AI versus one human in this context. Drawing on the stereotype content model, wisdom of crowd effect, and synergy effect, we build a research model to understand how different physician type affects patients’ intention to use the service. Results of an experiment show that, while one AI is less likely to evoke perceived accuracy and caring than one human physician, two AIs can mitigate such weaknesses of one AI. Further, there is no difference between two AIs and one human physician in enhancing perceived accuracy and caring. Perceived accuracy and caring increase trust, thereby enhancing intention to use the service. This research makes contributions by examining the influences of two AI physicians.