Effectiveness of AI Chatbots in Improving Students' General Wellbeing

Overview

The goal of this randomised controlled trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of an AI mental health chatbot in promoting emotional wellbeing and perceived empathy among university students in Singapore with mild or subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can the chatbot provide emotional validation and be perceived as empathic? Does the chatbot reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve wellbeing more than an inactive control condition? Researchers will compare students who engage in four sessions with the chatbot to students who complete four neutral writing tasks to assess differences in emotional wellbeing, empathy, and resilience. Participants will: Complete baseline wellbeing assessments Be randomised to: Four 20-minute chatbot sessions providing personalised support using cognitive-behavioural and compassion-focused techniques (intervention group), or Four 20-minute neutral writing sessions unrelated to mental health (control group) Complete post-session and follow-up wellbeing questionnaires All sessions are conducted virtually over Zoom. Participants are full-time students at the National University of Singapore, aged 21 and above. The study aims to inform future development of AI tools for emotional support in non-clinical settings.

This randomised controlled trial evaluates the effectiveness of an AI-based mental health chatbot in promoting emotional wellbeing among university students in Singapore. The chatbot, part of the existing Intellect app used by the National University of Singapore (NUS), delivers supportive conversations grounded in cognitive-behavioural and compassion-focused techniques. A total of 172 NUS students (aged 21+) will be screened for eligibility. Those with moderate to severe anxiety or depression (GAD-7 or PHQ-9 ≥10), current mental health treatment, or history of self-harm will be excluded and provided with mental health resources. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either: Intervention group: Four 20-minute chatbot sessions over four weeks, delivered via Zoom. The chatbot explores participants' challenges, promotes emotional insight, identifies unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviours, and offers weekly reflection homework. Control group: Four 20-minute neutral writing tasks (non-mental-health topics) over four weeks, matched in format and timing. All participants complete self-report wellbeing questionnaires before and after each session, and a one-month follow-up. Primary outcomes include changes in anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), wellbeing (WHO-5), affect (PANAS), resilience (BRS), and perceived empathy (PEQ). The chatbot's perceived empathy will be assessed after session 1 and session 4 in the intervention group. Sessions are not audio- or video-recorded, and participant anonymity is preserved. Researchers monitor sessions via video to ensure safety. At follow-up, control participants will be offered access to the chatbot if it proves effective. This study aims to assess feasibility, empathy, and clinical impact of chatbot-delivered support, contributing to the development of scalable digital tools for emotional wellbeing in non-clinical university settings.