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Chatbots can be affordable and efficient on-demand virtual assistants for mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. We review features of chatbots available for anxiety or depression. Six bibliographic databases were searched including backward and forwards reference list checking. The initial search returned 1302 citations. Post-filtering, 42 studies remained forming the final dataset for this scoping review. Most of the studies were from conference proceedings (62%, 26\/42), followed by journal articles (26%, 11\/42), reports (7%, 3\/42), or book chapters (5%, 2\/42). About half of the reviewed chatbots had functionality targeting both anxiety and depression (60%, 25\/42), whereas 38% (16\/42) targeted only depression, 38% (16\/42) anxiety and the remaining addressed other mental health issues along with anxiety and depression. Avatars or fictional characters were rarely used in these studies only 26% (11\/42) despite their increasing popularity. Mental health chatbots could benefit in helping patients with anxiety and depression and provide valuable support to mental healthcare workers, particularly when resources are scarce. Real-time personal virtual assistance fills in this gap . Their role in mental health care is expected to increase.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/14604582221146719","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,24]],"date-time":"2023-01-24T13:04:22Z","timestamp":1674565462000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":73,"title":["Chatbot features for anxiety and depression: A scoping review"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"29","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4025-5767","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arfan","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"AI Center for Precision Health, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"given":"Asmaa","family":"Hassan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Aziz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AI Center for Precision Health, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"given":"Alaa A","family":"Abd-alrazaq","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AI Center for Precision Health, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"given":"Nashva","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6082-7873","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mahmood","family":"Alzubaidi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"given":"Dena","family":"Al-Thani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0803-1138","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bushra","family":"Elhusein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mental Health Services, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"given":"Mohamed Ali","family":"Siddig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mental Health Services, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"given":"Maram","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mental Health Services, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar"}]},{"given":"Mowafa","family":"Househ","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-14604582221146719","volume-title":"Mental health action plan 2013-2020","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2013"},{"key":"bibr2-14604582221146719","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Teles A, Rodrigues I, Viana D, et al. 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