AI chatbot takes on smoking: could WhatsApp help you quit?
NCT ID NCT06914492
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether a chatbot providing instant messaging support via WhatsApp could help adult smokers in Hong Kong quit. Over 1,000 participants received either brief advice plus chatbot support or brief advice alone. The goal was to see if the chatbot led to higher quit rates, measured by breath and saliva tests.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- chatbot-based instant messaging support (via WhatsApp)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a scalable, low-cost tool to help smokers quit using AI-powered chat support.
- What could go wrong
- This is a completed trial with results not yet reported. The chatbot may not outperform brief advice alone, and participants must already use WhatsApp, limiting generalizability.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
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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1,058 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2025
- Finished
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Jun 2026
- 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 years and older
- 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.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above * Smoke at least 1 tobacco stick (includes HTP) per day or use e-cigarette daily in the past 3-month * Able to communicate in Chinese * Exhaled carbon monoxide level ≥4 part per million or a positive salivary cotinine test * Intention to quit/reducing smoking * Have instant messaging tool (WhatsApp) installed * Able to use the instant messaging tool (e.g., WhatsApp) for communication Exclusion Criteria: * Smokers who have communication barriers (either physical or cognitive). * Smokers who are currently participating in other smoking cessation programs or services.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH)
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077, Hong Kong
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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