Assessing the impact of chatbots on health decision-making: A multifactorial experimental approach

BackgroundChatbots are increasingly integrated into healthcare, offering personalized and accessible health advice. However, the impact of factors such as chatbot authority, health information type, and interaction style on users' decision-making remains unclear.ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate how these elements influence users' willingness to adopt health advice provided by chatbots.MethodsA 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted with 480 university students to examine the effects of chatbot authority (authoritative vs. non-authoritative), health information type (preventive vs. treatment-related), and interaction style (formal vs. informal). Participants' willingness to adopt the health advice was measured before and after interacting with the chatbot.ResultsThe study found that a authoritative chatbot delivering treatment-related advice in a formal style significantly increased willingness to adopt the advice. Conversely, preventive information was more effective when presented informally by a non-authoritative chatbot. These results support the media evocation paradigm, which suggests that chatbots framed as authoritative figures evoke greater user engagement and trust in health contexts.ConclusionThe findings extend the media evocation paradigm by demonstrating that chatbot authority, information type, and interaction style should be aligned with the nature of health advice to maximize effectiveness. This study provides insights for designing chatbots that improve health decision-making by tailoring their communication strategies.