Can chatbots help to motivate smoking cessation? A study on the effectiveness of motivational interviewing on engagement and therapeutic alliance.

The results of this preregistered study suggest that talking with a chatbot about smoking cessation can help to motivate smokers to quit and that the effect of conversation has the potential to build up over time. We did not find support for an extra motivating effect of the MI-style chatbot, for which we discuss possible reasons. These findings highlight the promise of using chatbots to motivate smoking cessation. Implications for future research are discussed.