Hi, I’m Cecil(y) the Smoking Cessation Chatbot: The Effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing and Confrontational Counseling Chatbots and the Moderating Role of the Need for Autonomy and Self-Efficacy

This study aimed to investigate if and how chatbots can increase smokers’ intention to quit, specifically looking into the effectiveness of two communication styles (i.e., motivational interviewing (MI) and confrontational counseling (CC)) and the moderating role of individual differences (i.e., need for autonomy and perceived self-efficacy) that may affect smokers’ experience with the chatbot. In an online between-subjects experiment (N = 233), smoking participants were assigned to interact with either a MI chatbot (n = 121) or a CC chatbot (n = 112) for one 8-min session. Their need for autonomy and perceived self-efficacy were measured, as well as their satisfaction with the conversation and pre- and post-test intention to quit smoking. No significant effects of different communication styles were found regarding the outcomes, nor did the need for autonomy moderate these results. However, the effect of MI on user satisfaction was more profound among smokers with higher self-efficacy, and a positive effect of self-efficacy on user satisfaction appeared. Additionally, interacting with the chatbots about one’s smoking behavior significantly increased participants’ intention to quit, regardless of its communication style. As such, this study sheds light on the potential of conversational chatbots for smoking cessation interventions, as well as pathways for future research.