Can a chatbot make doctor visits feel more caring?
NCT ID NCT07105397
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 10, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This study looks at whether using a conversational AI to collect medical history can make people with depression feel more understood by their doctors. About 130 adults with moderate to severe depression will try the AI at home before a regular visit and rate how empathetic the experience felt. The goal is to see if this approach improves communication and care without replacing the doctor.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 130 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 85 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
1. Participant is between 18 to 85 years old. 2. Participant has been, or are likely to be, diagnosed with moderate to severe Major Depressive Disorder without signs of bipolar depression. 3. Participant is not in active suicidal crisis and do not face imminent risk of suicide within the next 3 hours. 4. Participant is not pregnant or seeking to be pregnant. 5. Participant able to communicate in English on the Internet. 6. Participant must reside in the United States. 7. Participant has access to a mental health clinician, or the participant is willing to see study clinicians to help review the advice and medication adjustments recommended by the AI Intake System to the participant. 8. If the participant is seeing study clinicians, the participant must reside in a state where study clinicians are licensed. 9. Participant must be using a device (phone or computer) that is located in the United States.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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George Mason University
RECRUITINGFairfax, Virginia, 22030, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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