Clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and operational efficiency of AI-powered chatbots in medicine and healthcare: protocol for an AI-aided scoping review

Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots are increasingly integrated into healthcare to support administrative processes, health education and chronic disease management. These systems simulate human dialogue through natural language processing and machine learning, enabling dynamic and context-aware interactions.

Despite their rapid adoption, there is limited synthesis of existing research describing how these technologies are applied across different healthcare contexts and what outcomes have been reported. This scoping review aims to map and describe the existing literature on the use of AI-powered chatbots in healthcare with a focus on clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and operational efficiency.

It will identify the types of studies conducted, their key characteristics and existing research gaps to guide future research. Methods and analysis Following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines, a comprehensive search will be conducted across Medline (PubMed), CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library and MedRxiv from database inception to 10 September 2025.