Parents’ perspectives on the use of artificial intelligence chatbots to promote physical activity among individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Purpose: Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have led to the increasing use of chatbots to promote physical activity (PA) through personalised guidance and interactive feedback. However, little is known about how AI chatbots can support parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in promoting home-based PA. Understanding parents’ perspectives on the use of AI chatbots to promote PA may be critical for designing practical guidance and interventions for individuals with ASD. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine parents’ perspectives on the use of AI chatbots to promote PA among individuals with ASD using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TpB). Method: Participants in this descriptive qualitative study were 16 parents (13 females and 3 males) who participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed for analysis and later analysed using thematic line-by-line analysis. Results: The findings revealed that parents had positive attitudes towards the use of AI chatbots to promote PA among individuals with ASD. According to parents, AI chatbots were useful for learning new information about PA and increasing PA levels among individuals with ASD. On the other hand, parents stated that AI chatbots did not provide much detail about some PAs and that they did not understand some PA terms. Therefore, parents stated that they repeatedly gave AI chatbots commands/prompts for each PA and often needed expert support. Conclusions: Results indicated a need for guidance to parents on the use of AI chatbots to promote PA among individuals with ASD.