Digital Clinicians Performing Obesity Medication Self-Injection Education: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have shown competency in a range of areas, including clinical note taking, diagnosis, research, and emotional support. An obesity epidemic, alongside a growth in novel injectable pharmacological solutions, has put a strain on limited resources. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the use of a chatbot integrated with a digital avatar to create a "digital clinician." This was used to provide mandatory patient education for those beginning semaglutide once-weekly self-administered injections for the treatment of overweight and obesity at a national center. Methods: A "digital clinician" with facial and vocal recognition technology was generated with a bespoke 10- to 15-minute clinician-validated tutorial. A feasibility randomized controlled noninferiority trial compared knowledge test scores, self-efficacy, consultation satisfaction, and trust levels between those using the AI-powered clinician avatar onsite and those receiving conventional semaglutide education from nursing staff. Attitudes were recorded immediately after the intervention and again at 2 weeks after the education session. Results: A total of 43 participants were recruited, 27 to the intervention group and 16 to the control group. Patients in the "digital clinician" group were significantly more knowledgeable postconsultation (median 10, IQR 10-11 vs median 8, IQR 7-9.3; P