Planned Parenthood Develops Chatbot to Reach More Teens

"In this environment, it's more important than ever that we have as many methods as possible to reach people where they are for health care and education," said Dr. Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "The chatbot is one more critical tool we're piloting to provide that information to people." For years, conservative lawmakers have sought to defund Planned Parenthood, which works to offer low-cost or free health services to women through grants and government-supported health plans like Medicare and Medicaid. Roo, as the chatbot is called, is meant to extend the organization's reach by providing information to young people who don't have access to sex education or only have access to programs that teach abstinence, said Dr. Wen. Planned Parenthood funded the initiative through a private grant, as well as a sizable investment from Work & Co., a design and technology company that has worked with the organization for more than 14 months to plan and develop the product.