Truace
Subscribe

Codevelopment, Implementation, and Evaluation of an AI-powered Conversational Interface for Tobacco Cessation: Protocol for a Single-Group Pre-Post Study

Background Despite several efforts to expand tobacco cessation services through tobacco cessation centers (TCCs) and quit lines, key operational challenges still persist. Recently, AI-based digital interventions have shown promise globally for smoking cessation; however, they remain underused in tobacco cessation strategy in the Indian context. Objective This study aimed to (1) codevelop the conversational interface with beneficiaries and cessation providers; (2) assess its feasibility, acceptability, usability,…

By the Truvace desk2 min read1 sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-1761· cite & verify
Codevelopment, Implementation, and Evaluation of an AI-powered Conversational Interface for Tobacco Cessation: Protocol for a Single-Group Pre-Post Study
"Chatbots linked" by Ashhstarr is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.

In brief

Researchers have registered a protocol to build and test an AI-powered conversational interface called CARE for people who use tobacco in India. It will run as a chatbot inside a mobile app, built on a retrieval-augmented large language model developed by the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, and it will offer personalized support in multiple languages.

The work matters because existing cessation centers and quit lines face operational constraints, and the tool is meant to supplement counseling rather than replace it. No results exist yet. The design has no control group, so any findings will be preliminary and cannot show that the tool caused changes in quitting.

Main points

  1. The study has three phases: codevelopment interviews, feasibility testing, and six-month pre-post effectiveness testing.
  2. Codevelopment will involve tobacco users, counselors, and health care professionals.
  3. Measures include the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, Smoking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, Decisional Balance Scale, and a knowledge questionnaire.
  4. The tool targets both smokers and smokeless tobacco users and will be implemented across three tobacco cessation centers.

The problem

Tobacco cessation services in India still face operational challenges, and AI-based digital tools remain underused there, leaving a gap the planned chatbot pilot aims to address.

The rundown

The CARE study was funded in March 2025 and is being implemented across three tobacco cessation centers. Ethics approval, tool development, site engagement, and trial registration were completed in 2025.

Codevelopment is scheduled from February to August 2026, feasibility testing from September 2026 to August 2027, and effectiveness assessment from September to November 2027. As of the publication date, these phases are planned rather than completed.

Data will be analyzed with mixed methods: thematic analysis for qualitative data, and descriptive statistics plus multivariate logistic regression for quantitative data. The authors expect the pilot to inform a later randomized controlled trial and possible integration into India's tobacco cessation platforms.

Sources

  1. Peer-reviewedJMIR Research Protocols2026-10-07

The debate