![]() Although chatbots are often text based, their capabilities have exploded since the pioneering program ELIZA, especially in their increased sophistication and accuracy in understanding natural language using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Chatbots quickly sieve what is relevant and convert programing codes into expressions that humans can understand. A chatbot responds by accessing information stored in large digital data repositories. By design, the user experience in a chatbot strives to be pleasant, as it mimics a scenario in which 2 humans are talking with each other. Chatbots are automated nonhuman agents that engage in conversations with human actors. One technology within the realm of social media that has experienced a rapid rise in different industries is chatbots. With this massive expansion of information infrastructure comprising wireless networks, digital technologies, and social media, Indian youths, both in urban and rural areas, are increasingly being plugged into this technology web. ![]() Facebook (Meta Platforms) is an obvious leader in the social media space in India, with 320 million users. With attractive pricing from India-based telecom giants, such as Jio, internet penetration and social media use through mobile networks are rapidly growing. At the beginning of 2020, India boasted of around 1.1 billion mobile phone connections, covering 78% of the population. In a day and age when mobile services and social media are proliferating in India, this is unfortunate. Uncomfortable and embarrassed to ask, young people in India have increasingly referred to web-based platforms to look for answers to SRH questions and have garnered misleading or incorrect information. Contact with unmarried youth and use of SRH services at adolescent-friendly health clinics are almost completely amiss. Although the government-endorsed national adolescent health program Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) has included SRH as part of its mandate since 2014, direct contact with frontline health workers, even by married young women, was extremely low. In particular, young people in India have limited awareness of contraception and sexually transmitted infections their knowledge base consists of inaccurate information and their family life education is highly insufficient. Despite stated policy commitments and significant strides made in recent years, the informational needs of adolescents and youth are poorly met, quality education about SRH is highly limited, contraceptive practices are heavily skewed toward female sterilization, and unsafe abortions are rampant. With a population of approximately 1.4 billion, India accounts for about 18% of all people on the planet, with half of this population being under the age of 25 years. The SnehAI chatbot aims to provide a safe space for Indian youth to have conversations about SRH, dispel sex-related myths and taboos, offer accurate information about safe sex and contraceptive choices, and address mental health concerns. ![]() This paper presents rich insights from an instrumental case study of an innovative chatbot in India called SnehAI, which was purposefully conceptualized and designed by the Population Foundation of India to educate and inspire adolescents and young adults to live healthy lives, promote sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and advocate for the health and well-being of women and girls.
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