This review examined the use of conversational agents (chatbots) in healthcare. The findings indicate that most chatbots are text-based, delivered through smartphone apps, and use machine learning. The most common chatbot applications are treatment monitoring, health service support, and patient education. Despite generally positive findings on their effectiveness and acceptability, there is a need for more robust evaluations, especially in LMICs, and a standardized evaluation framework.

One author (TK) is affiliated with the Center for Digital Health Interventions, which is partly funded by a health insurer (CSS), and is also a cofounder of Pathmate Technologies, a company that creates digital clinical pathways.

This scoping review provides a valuable overview of the current state of conversational agents in healthcare. It highlights the potential benefits and identifies key areas for future research. The limitations mentioned do not detract significantly from the review's overall quality. The identified COI was acknowledged and likely did not significantly affect the results of the review, warranting a rating of 4.