AI researchers and psychologists from Stanford University have launched Woebot, a chatbot that helps users manage their mental health. Woebot gathers mood data from text and emojis patients enter as part of daily chat conversations to offer personal responses and follow-ups for 10 minutes at a time. Modelled on cognitive behavioural therapy techniques, the chatbot encourages patients to talk about emotional responses to life events and identify instances that cause stress, anxiety and depression. The team has been working with Woebot’s creators since last year when they were first approached by an Australian patient who was suffering from depression but had not yet sought help.
AI researchers and psychologists from Stanford University have launched Woebot, a chatbot that helps users manage their mental health. Woebot gathers mood data from text and emojis patients enter as part of daily chat conversations to offer personal responses and follow-ups for 10 minutes at a time. Modelled on cognitive behavioural therapy techniques, the chatbot encourages patients to talk about emotional responses to life events and identify instances that cause stress, anxiety and depression. Patients are less likely to fear being judged by a chatbot than they would by a human therapist, said Woebot CEO Alison Darcy.