Digital health technologies offer scalable solutions for smoking cessation support. Generative conversational agents, or chatbots, are emerging as innovative digital health tools that leverage AI to deliver personalized and interactive conversations in real time.
This symposium will present five distinct chatbot models and discuss their development, challenges, and early evidence of effectiveness.
- The first chatbot (BeFreeBot) uses SMS-based delivery to interact with smokers, providing an inclusive, low-barrier approach.
- The second chatbot (MIBot) applies motivational interviewing principles to boost smokers’ motivation to quit through a respectful and empathetic dialogue.
- The third chatbot (Kita) is co-designed with pregnant women and experts to address their unique smoking cessation needs and demonstrates how participatory design enhances relevance and engagement.
- The fourth chatbot (QuitBot) delivers a comprehensive 42-day quit smoking program of 3 to 5-minute focused conversations having been developed using a multi-step user centered design process and is freely available.
- The fifth chatbot (eSupporter) integrates personalized AI-driven coaching to support behaviour change in people with chronic conditions, starting with COPD and physical activity and expanding to smoking cessation and beyond.
The presentations will highlight lessons learned in chatbot design, ethical considerations, and implementation challenges, including user engagement. The session will conclude with a panel discussion on future research priorities and the role of generative AI in advancing personalized smoking cessation support.
Employees of the commercial tobacco industry and their wholly or partially owned subsidiaries are ineligible to attend.
