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Artificial intelligence chatbots were far less likely to tell someone to seek emergency care when the same medical emergency was described in Vietnamese instead of English, according to research presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 2026 meeting in Nashville. The tools failed to recommend emergency care about 41% of the time in Vietnamese, compared with 15% in English.
The findings come from a conference abstract that tested simulated digestive-health scenarios. It did not involve real patients, and it has not been published as a full peer-reviewed study.
For a parent deciding whether a child’s stomach pain can wait until morning, or an adult caring for an older relative, chatbot advice can shape what happens next. A tool that sounds confident but misses a warning sign could delay care. The researchers said the results raise concerns about delays in seeking care, a risk the study measured in test scenarios rather than in real patients.
The study, titled “Does AI Speak Gastroenterology Equitably?” and presented as Oral 62, was among ACG’s newsworthy abstracts for the 2026 meeting. The meeting runs Oct. 9 to 14. Researchers tested four large language models across the seven most common languages spoken in the United States.
According to the authors’ summary, the same clinical scenario could receive different advice depending on the language used. Failure to recommend emergency care rose from 15% in English to about 41% in Vietnamese. The researchers also found errors in English and larger gaps in several other languages. The ACG summary did not name the four models or report results for each language.
“A tool’s ability to respond fluently in a language does not mean its medical advice is reliable,” said Harika Dadigiri, MD, the abstract’s listed author contact. “Language equity is part of patient safety.”
Dadigiri said AI is already part of how patients look for health information. She encouraged clinicians to ask patients what advice a chatbot gave them, and in which language, to help catch misunderstandings.
Vietnamese Americans are the fourth-largest Asian-origin group in the country, according to the Pew Research Center. About 72% of Vietnamese Americans ages 5 and older speak Vietnamese at home, and about 56% speak English proficiently, which means many may prefer health information in Vietnamese.
Those families are concentrated in a few major metro areas. A 2013 Census Bureau language report, based on 2007 to 2011 survey data, found about 233,000 Vietnamese speakers in the Los Angeles area, along with roughly 89,000 in Houston and 61,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth. Those figures are older, but they show where language gaps in AI tools could reach the most households.
The risk is not limited to Vietnamese speakers. The researchers said gaps appeared in several of the seven languages, and even English answers were not error-free.
This is early evidence. The study is a conference abstract based on simulated scenarios, not patient outcomes, and it has not undergone full peer review. It does not show that anyone was harmed or that patients actually delayed care because of chatbot advice.
The results also may not apply to every chatbot or every version of a model, since AI tools are updated often. The study focused on digestive-health emergencies, so it is unclear whether the same gaps appear for heart, stroke, or pediatric scenarios.
What the study does show is a measurable difference in how the tools handled identical emergencies across languages. The question extends to hospitals and health plans adding chatbots to patient portals and phone lines. If those tools are offered in several languages, testing emergency advice in each language would help show whether every patient gets the same safety net.
The researchers advised patients not to rely on a chatbot alone to decide whether concerning symptoms can wait. Tell your doctor or nurse what the chatbot said so they can correct any misunderstanding, and ask for an interpreter when you need one.
Some symptoms need urgent care regardless of what an app says. These include vomiting blood, black or bloody stools, severe or worsening abdominal pain, chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting or sudden confusion. Call 911 or go to an emergency department if these occur. For milder symptoms, a nurse advice line or a clinician’s after-hours service is a safer first step than a chatbot alone.
Language help is also a legal right in many care settings. Under federal civil rights law on language access, programs that receive federal health funding must provide language assistance, including interpreters and translated documents, free of charge. Many hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies receive such funding, so patients can ask for an interpreter in Vietnamese or another language at no cost.
Outside researchers will need to see the full methods and model-by-model results. ACG meeting sessions will be available on demand through March 31, 2027, and MedicalDaily will report if a full peer-reviewed paper is published.
What did the study find? In simulated digestive-health emergencies, four AI chatbots failed to recommend emergency care about 41% of the time in Vietnamese, compared with 15% in English. Gaps also appeared in several other languages.
Was this tested on real patients? No. Researchers used simulated scenarios. The work is a conference abstract presented at ACG 2026 and has not been published as a full peer-reviewed study.
Which chatbots were tested? The ACG’s public summary says four large language models were tested but does not name them.
Who could be most affected? People who prefer health information in a language other than English, including many Vietnamese-speaking families in areas such as Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Which symptoms need emergency care no matter what a chatbot says? Vomiting blood, black or bloody stools, severe abdominal pain, chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting or sudden confusion all need urgent medical attention.
Can I get a free interpreter at a hospital or pharmacy? Programs that receive federal health funding must provide free language help. Ask the front desk or pharmacist for an interpreter.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
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