Conversational Agent Utilization Patterns of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face unique challenges in their social interactions. The use of conversational agents (CA) can provide support and help reduce barriers to care. However, research on CA’s by individuals with ASD is limited. The present study sought to better understand CA utilization patterns by users with ASD. A subset of data was collected from users of Wysa , a mental health CA. Engagement with the CA, utilization of offered mental health interventions (CA tools), collection of energy scores, depression (PHQ-9), and anxiety (GAD-7) outcomes were gathered and analyzed. Users engaged with Wysa on average 8.59 days and had a median of 97 conversational exchanges. Almost half of the users utilized at least one of the 230 tools offered. The most frequently used interventions focused on mindfulness, thought recording, sleep, grounding, and social support. Energy scores were reported on average 10.59 times, and the mean energy score was 42.77 out of 100. Mean baseline PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were 10.34 and 8.81, respectively. Overall, the current findings show that users with ASD engaged regularly with a CA, despite its targeted design for other mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety, rather than ASD. If users with ASD engage with these types of resources, this could become a new avenue of support to a population facing multiple challenges to accessing treatment.