Navigating the world of medications can be confusing. What are the side effects? How should I take it? A new AI-powered tool, Med-Pal, aims to simplify medication inquiries, offering readily available information in a user-friendly format. Researchers developed Med-Pal as a lightweight, specialized chatbot, fine-tuning it with over 1,100 expert-curated question-answer pairs related to common medications. This approach makes the tool highly efficient and deployable even on devices with limited internet access, bridging the information gap for diverse populations. The team tested Med-Pal against other leading medical chatbots, evaluating responses based on safety, accuracy, objectivity, reproducibility, and clarity. While Med-Pal scored high in safety, accuracy and clarity, all chatbots struggled with consistently reproducing the same answer to a repeated question—an area for future improvement. The study also highlights the importance of “guardrails” in AI. Researchers tested Med-Pal against tricky questions designed to elicit harmful or misleading information. Med-Pal successfully navigated these “adversarial prompts,” demonstrating its robust safety protocols. Med-Pal's lightweight nature allows it to run locally on devices like smartphones, expanding access to vital medication information and potentially reducing healthcare disparities. Its enhanced data security is also a significant advantage in protecting sensitive patient data. While challenges remain in ensuring consistent responses and covering a broader medication range, Med-Pal represents an innovative step toward making medication information more accessible and understandable for everyone.