Babylon, the company behind the NHS GP at Hand app, says its follow-up software achieves medical exam scores that are on-par with human doctors. It revealed the artificial intelligence bot at an event held at the Royal College of Physicians.

But another medical professional body said it doubted the AI's abilities.

"No app or algorithm will be able to do what a GP does," said the Royal College of General Practitioners.

"An app might be able to pass an automated clinical knowledge test - but the answer to a clinical scenario isn't always cut and dried.

"There are many factors to take into account, a great deal of risk to manage, and the emotional impact a diagnosis might have on a patient to consider."