AI Daily Affirmations? Yes please!
2023 has been declared the year of AI and it’s been a lot energetically. It seems as clients, friends and loved ones are all talking about AI, watching this thing very closely, I’ve been sensing uncertainty, fear, and even panic surrounding the introduction of ChatGPT and big tech’s reaction to it — the energy reads hectic, almost dizzying.
I thought it might be cool to see if AI could be used to affirm a sense of calm. As part of the team at Roqo, a health and wellness AI chatbot (developed before ChatGPT), I asked to test a daily affirmation feature to see if users were comfortable using a generative AI chatbot to support their positive daily headspace.
Unlike other AI chat services that are trending, Roqo has been experimenting with advanced conversational AI that could understand emojis and sporatically send informative SMS reminders to users for almost two years. This allowed the AI bot to start impromptu conversations and threads. Early test users say this makes Roqo feel like a more helpful assistant than a website or service that they must remember to navigate to.
The team leveraged the GPT 3.5. API and wrote an algorithm that dynamically engineered prompts guiding the bot to select contextual topics while attempting to speak in the style of celebrated and uplifting voices, self-help gurus and spiritual texts such as Iyanla Vanzant and Rumi.
We tested the feature on a group of 10 people who are into mind, body, wellness and who are farmiliar with the power of affirmations. We were curious if they’d be comfortable accepting affirmations generated by an AI.
The first affirmations we sent out weren’t so great. They felt generic and one user mistook them as spam and blocked us. Another user thought the affirmation was a marketing message from her physical therapist. To remedy this, we added a tagline from Roqo to remind people that they did in fact opt-in. Next, one of our testers, an avid user of positive affirmations, mentioned that the affirmations needed to be more profound:
“My honest opinion, we’re bombarded with messages all day, I think you want it to be powerful, where you read it and feel an instant boost.” -M.L.
We wondered if they’d like the affirmations more if we added personalization. Studies show that personalizing SMS messaging increases engagement. This worked! The user had a moment and felt as though the message was made just for them.
“Yes, I felt it”-M.L.
Another user liked the affirmations, yet desired to know where the wisdom came from.
“I think I’m getting comfortable with AI mimicking the style of an artist/writer. I don’t love that part, but I see the utility in it.” -S.T.
There’s an ongoing conversation about AI and intellectual property that I’m in favor of. While these legal issues play out, I thought it’d be a good idea to add the inspiration behind each affirmation prompt in the tagline. It just seemed like the right thing to do. The user agreed with me on this and was pleased with this addition.
“If credit is given, it’s better than not.”-S.T.
On day three we decided to experiment and to not deliver affirmations. One user texted me at the end of the day, they were disappointed!
“Wait a sec, I didn’t get my inspirational quote today…I started looking forward to it.” -N.E.
The affirmations are random and the probability of receiving the particular affirmation that the bot generates for you is extremely low and very mathematical. That’s when it can get trippy. The messages, at least for me, hit home more than once. For example, I was in the midst of collaborating caregiving for a senior family member, which can be both stressful and emotional. Soon after, and almost magically, I received a profound affirmation from Roqo, affirming feelings of gratitude and love for family.
The feedback has been more positive than not. With a users reporting that the messages are “on point” and they’re really “loving them!!!”
I wanted to let you know I’ve been really enjoying the affirmations from Roqo! They’re very sweet and I think they come at a great time (when I least expect it) but I’m able to look at my messages and see something positive which isn’t always how looking at my phone goes lol-D.L.
Although Roqo is currently only available to a select group, it feels really good to use AI for wellness. The World Health Organization’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030 suggests:
“the promotion of self-care, for instance, through the use of electronic and mobile health technologies”
I look forward to exploring ways in which stakeholders such as technologists, non-profits, health communications professionals and government institutions can best utilize AI to support well-being.
Imani Razat is a writer and communications consultant. She has a MA in Communication from Johns Hopkins University.
