The chatbot’s creators, from the AI company Limbic, set out to research whether AI could lower the barrier to care by helping patients access help more quickly and efficiently.

A recent study, published today in , evaluated the effect that the chatbot, called Limbic Access, had on referrals to the NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression program, a series of evidence-based psychological therapies for adults experiencing anxiety disorders, depression, or each.  

It examined data from 129,400 people visiting web sites to refer themselves to twenty-eight different NHS Talking Therapies services across England, half of which used the chatbot on their website and half of which used other data-collecting methods reminiscent of web forms. The variety of referrals from services using the Limbic chatbot rose by 15% in the course of the study’s three-month time period, compared with a 6% rise in referrals for the services that weren’t using it.  

Referrals amongst minority groups, including ethnic and sexual minorities, grew significantly when the chatbot was available—rising 179% amongst individuals who identified as nonbinary, 39% for Asian patients, and 40% for Black patients. 

Crucially, the report’s authors said that the upper numbers of patients being referred for help from the services didn’t increase waiting times or cause a discount within the variety of clinical assessments being performed. That’s since the detailed information the chatbot collected reduced the period of time human clinicians needed to spend assessing patients, while improving the standard of the assessments and freeing up other resources.