{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T20:50:23Z","timestamp":1791492623776,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JMIR Hum Factors"],"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Background<\/jats:title>\n Malaysia, an upper middle-income country in the Asia-Pacific region, has an HIV epidemic that has transitioned from needle sharing to sexual transmission, mainly in men who have sex with men (MSM). MSM are the most vulnerable population for HIV in Malaysia. In 2022, our team developed a web-based artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot and tested its feasibility and acceptability among MSM in Malaysia to promote HIV testing. To enhance the usability of the AI chatbot, we made it accessible to the public through the website called MYHIV365 and tested it in an observational study.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n This study aimed to test the usability of an AI chatbot in promoting HIV testing among MSM living in Malaysia.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n This observational study was conducted from August 2023 to March 2024 among 334 MSM. Participants were recruited through community outreach and social-networking apps using flyers. The interactions between participants and the AI chatbot were documented and retrieved from the chatbot developer\u2019s platform. Data were analyzed following a predefined metrics using R software (Posit Software, PBC).<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n The AI chatbot interacted with 334 participants, assisting them in receiving free HIV self-testing kits, offering information on HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and mental health, and providing details of 220 MSM-friendly clinics, including their addresses, phone numbers, and operating hours. After the study, 393 human-chatbot interactions were documented on the chatbot developer\u2019s platform. Most participants (304\/334, 91.0%) interacted with the AI chatbot once, 30 (9.0%) engaged 2 or more times at different intervals. Participants\u2019 interaction time with the chatbot varied, ranging from 1 to 31 minutes. The AI chatbot properly addressed most participants\u2019 questions (362\/393, 92.1%) about HIV and PrEP. However, in 31 interactions, participants posed additional questions to the chatbot that were not programmed into the chatbot algorithms, resulting in unanswered interactions.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n The web-based AI chatbot demonstrated high usability in delivering HIV self-testing kits and providing clinical information on HIV testing, PrEP, and mental health services. To enhance its usability in community and clinical settings, the chatbot must offer personalized health information and precise interaction, powered by sophisticated machine learning algorithms. In addition, establishing an effective connection between the AI chatbot and health care systems to eliminate stigma and discrimination toward MSM is crucial for the future implementation of AI chatbots.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/70034","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]],"date-time":"2025-05-29T10:40:07Z","timestamp":1748515207000},"page":"e70034-e70034","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Evaluating the Usability of an HIV Prevention Artificial Intelligence Chatbot in Malaysia: National Observational Study"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9185-9894","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhao","family":"Ni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7323-6175","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sunyoung","family":"Oh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9114-4728","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rumana","family":"Saifi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1977-6709","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iskandar","family":"Azwa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7860-693X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Frederick L","family":"Altice","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1","unstructured":"Men who have sex with men. World Health Organization. URL: https:\/\/www.who.int\/teams\/global-hiv-hepatitis-and-stis-programmes\/populations\/men-who-have-sex-with-men [Accessed 14-06-2025]"},{"issue":"1","key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/publichealth.9321","article-title":"Population size estimation of gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men using social media-based platforms","volume":"4","author":"Baral","journal-title":"JMIR Public Health Surveill"},{"issue":"10","key":"R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/42055","article-title":"Formative evaluation of the acceptance of HIV prevention artificial intelligence chatbots by men who have sex with men in Malaysia: focus group study","volume":"6","author":"Peng","journal-title":"JMIR Form Res"},{"key":"R4","unstructured":"Global AIDS monitoring: country progress report - Malaysia. Ministry of Health Malaysia. 2022. URL: https:\/\/www.moh.gov.my\/moh\/resources\/Penerbitan\/Laporan\/Umum\/MYS_country_report_2021.pdf [Accessed 14-06-2025]"},{"issue":"2","key":"R5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1089\/lgbt.2021.0452","article-title":"Exploring Malaysian physicians\u2019 intention to discriminate against gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men patients","volume":"10","author":"Ni","journal-title":"LGBT Health"},{"key":"R6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/52055","article-title":"Testing the feasibility and acceptability of using an artificial intelligence chatbot to promote HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis in Malaysia: mixed methods study","volume":"11","author":"Cheah","journal-title":"JMIR Hum Factors"},{"key":"R7","unstructured":"Ellis-Petersen H . Malaysia accused of \u2019state-sponsored homophobia\u2019 after LGBT crackdown. The Guardian. 2018. URL: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/aug\/22\/malaysia-accused-of-state-sponsored-homophobia-after-lgbt-crackdown [Accessed 14-06-2025]"},{"key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/54349","article-title":"Implementation of chatbot technology in health care: protocol for a bibliometric analysis","volume":"13","author":"Ni","journal-title":"JMIR Res Protoc"},{"issue":"4","key":"R9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"322","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijnss.2018.09.003","article-title":"An mHealth intervention to improve medication adherence among patients with coronary heart disease in China: development of an intervention","volume":"5","author":"Ni","journal-title":"Int J Nurs Sci"},{"issue":"3","key":"R10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/27202","article-title":"An mHealth intervention to improve medication adherence and health outcomes among patients with coronary heart disease: randomized controlled trial","volume":"24","author":"Ni","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"issue":"6","key":"R11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.40922","article-title":"Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in medicine: a supplement, not a substitute","volume":"15","author":"Altamimi","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"issue":"6","key":"R12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"481","DOI":"10.1007\/s11904-023-00681-x","article-title":"Chatbots for HIV prevention and care: a narrative review","volume":"20","author":"van Heerden","journal-title":"Curr HIV\/AIDS Rep"},{"issue":"2","key":"R13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"184","DOI":"10.1111\/hiv.13720","article-title":"The first AI-based chatbot to promote HIV self-management: a mixed methods usability study","volume":"26","author":"Ma","journal-title":"HIV Med"},{"key":"R14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/48447","article-title":"Evaluating an innovative HIV self-testing service with web-based, real-time counseling provided by an artificial intelligence chatbot (HIVST-Chatbot) in increasing HIV self-testing use among Chinese men who have sex with men: protocol for a noninferiority randomized controlled trial","volume":"12","author":"Chen","journal-title":"JMIR Res Protoc"},{"key":"R15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/56930","article-title":"Roles, users, benefits, and limitations of chatbots in health care: rapid review","volume":"26","author":"Laymouna","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"}],"container-title":["JMIR Human Factors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/humanfactors.jmir.org\/2025\/1\/e70034","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T17:58:22Z","timestamp":1782842302000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/humanfactors.jmir.org\/2025\/1\/e70034"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]]},"references-count":15,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2196\/70034","relation":{},"ISSN":["2292-9495"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2292-9495","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]]},"article-number":"v12i1e70034"}}