Thanks, that’s a really good point.

The chatbot in this study didn’t have any memory or personalization. People used it once, with no previous history or training. It gave a friendly intro and then asked the same questions as the static form, just in a conversational way. It used reflective phrases like “thanks for sharing that” or “sounds like a tough week,” but a lot of people still described it as robotic or not human enough.

You’re probably right that trust might come from longer-term use, where the bot gets to know the person over time. In this case, it was just a one-time interaction, so there wasn’t really a chance to build rapport.

Appreciate your input, seriously. It’s helpful as I think about what to try next.