Can AI Health Conversations Serve as a New Mediator of Health Behavior Change?

Abstract

Health conversations with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are rapidly increasing; 17% of US adults consult AI chatbots about health monthly, and the figure reaches 25% among those under 30. In Korea, generative AI use reached 33.3% in 2024, nearly doubling from the previous year. Yet academic discourse has largely focused on information accuracy and patient safety. I propose reframing AI health conversations as a potential mediator of health behavior change. Drawing on systematic reviews showing that AI chatbots can support physical activity and smoking cessation, I connect these findings to the transtheoretical model processes of change and the health belief model construct of self-efficacy. I describe the “information-to-action question shift” as a mechanism that may drive the transition from contemplation to action, and discuss intersections with Korea’s Fifth National Health Plan (HP2030) health literacy goals.

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