Ask DoctorBot: Unpacking the Social Design Aspects of Symptom Assessment Chatbots

Conversational AI applications or chatbots have raised fundamental questions on understanding emerging user experiences. Healthcare chatbots offer omnipresent and responsive support for symptom checking by acting as virtual health assistants. The research focuses on the social design aspects of symptom assessment chatbots - in particular - emotional support and automated social presence. A survey study with 223 users of a symptom assessment chatbot in China supports the significant impact of these two design elements on perceptions of functional service quality. However, the same effect was not found for service satisfaction, suggesting a disconnection between interaction elements and expectations about what symptom assessment chatbots can achieve for users. Reflecting on the results, the research identifies the influence mechanisms of healthcare chatbots’ social design on the processes and outcomes of user engagement.