Physicians’ perceptions of the use of conversational agents in everyday care: a qualitative study

Background In recent years, research on conversational agents (CAs) in the healthcare sector has increased, and their effectiveness and efficiency have been mostly demonstrated. Despite the promising effects and increasing research, integration of CAs into routine practice is lacking, and insights into physicians' perspectives that are important for implementation remain limited. This study aims to analyze physicians’ perceptions of the use of CAs in everyday care and to explore their views on facilitating and hindering factors that should be addressed in implementation efforts. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 physicians from various specialties and care settings (inpatient and outpatient) across Germany. Maximum variation sampling was applied to ensure diversity in gender, age, experience with CAs, and medical discipline. The interviewees were encouraged to share their perception of CAs in everyday care, preferred characteristics of CAs and factors influencing the implementation of CAs. Interview data were analyzed based on the concept of the Framework Method. Results In total, we were able to identify eight main topics on how physicians perceive the importance of CAs in daily healthcare. The analysis revealed that only one of sixteen physicians had intense practical experience with medical CAs, highlighting a critical gap between perceived potential and real-world application. Physicians viewed CAs as promising tools to maintain care quality amid increasing workloads and staff shortages. They emphasized benefits such as time savings, efficiency gains, and improved patient access. CAs were seen as particularly valuable for administrative support, symptom assessment, and patient empowerment. However, substantial barriers were reported, including legal uncertainties, lack of interoperability with existing systems, data privacy concerns, and limited real-world experience. Physicians stressed that the true potential of CAs becomes apparent only through practical application. Conclusion This study offers insights into how physicians perceive CAs and highlights key factors for successful implementation. Successful implementation requires addressing legal, structural, and technical barriers while aligning systems with user needs. Practical trials and pilot programs are essential to reveal benefits and foster trust. This study provides a foundation for developing targeted implementation strategies and underlines the importance of a multidimensional, stakeholder-sensitive approach to integrating CAs in healthcare.