Adolescents’ Well-being While Using a Mobile Artificial Intelligence–Powered Acceptance Commitment Therapy Tool: Evidence From a Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Background Adolescence is a critical developmental period to prevent and treat the emergence of mental health problems. Smartphone-based conversational agents can deliver psychologically driven intervention and support, thus increasing psychological well-being over time. Objective The objective of the study was to test the potential of an automated conversational agent named Kai.ai to deliver a self-help program based on Acceptance Commitment Therapy tools for adolescents, aimed to increase their well-being. Methods Participants were 10,387 adolescents, aged 14-18 years, who used Kai.ai on one of the top messaging apps (eg, iMessage and WhatsApp). Users’ well-being levels were assessed between 2 and 5 times using the 5-item World Health Organization Well-being Index questionnaire over their engagement with the service. Results Users engaged with the conversational agent an average of 45.39 (SD 46.77) days. The average well-being score at time point 1 was 39.28 (SD 18.17), indicating that, on average, users experienced reduced well-being. Latent growth curve modeling indicated that participants’ well-being significantly increased over time (β=2.49; P<.001) and reached a clinically acceptable well-being average score (above 50). Conclusions Mobile-based conversational agents have the potential to deliver engaging and effective Acceptance Commitment Therapy interventions.