Using Psychological Artificial Intelligence (Tess) to Relieve Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: Randomized Controlled Trial
An early randomized controlled trial of Tess (X2AI), a conversational-agent mental-health intervention, testing its effect on depression and anxiety symptoms in US university students over a 2-4 week period compared to a control condition.
Publisher
JMIR Mental Health
Published
13 Dec 2018
Added
2 months ago
Key Findings
- Randomized controlled trial of 75 US university students found statistically significant reductions in depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) symptoms after using Tess over 2-4 weeks, relative to control
- One of the earliest RCT-validated conversational-AI mental-health interventions, predating Wysa's and Tess's own later replications
Methodology Notes
Randomized controlled trial, 75 US university students, PHQ-9/GAD-7 outcome measures over a 2-4 week intervention period. A 2021 Argentina-based replication of this same intervention (already staged as a companion entry) found no significant difference from control, a useful calibration counterpoint. CORRECTION NOTICE: a formal correction to this article was published in JMIR Mental Health on 2026-08-26 (DOI 10.2196/108162, Crossref); the substance of the correction has not been read because JMIR hosts block automated fetchers from this workspace.
Sources
JMIR Mental Health(opens in a new tab) (primary)
Correction published in JMIR Mental Health (content not yet read; JMIR blocks this workspace)(opens in a new tab) (26 Aug 2026)
Archived snapshot (Wayback Machine)(opens in a new tab) — preserved against link rot
Authors
Russell Fulmer, Angela Joerin, Breanna Gentile, Lysanne Lakerink, Michiel Rauws
Tags
Cite This
APA
Russell Fulmer et al. (2018). Using Psychological Artificial Intelligence (Tess) to Relieve Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mental Health. https://mental.jmir.org/2018/4/e64/
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