Design and Development of Conversational Chatbot for Covid-19 using NLP: an AI application

ABSTRACT

Since the discovery of corona virus (nCOV-19), and its subsequent progression into a global pandemic, an enormous hurdle faced by hospitals and their healthcare staff has been to streamline, and look after the huge flow of cases. It has become increasingly difficult to consult a Covid specialist when the first wave occurred in rural and areas not connected as well to modern amenities. Thus, it has become obvious that an interactive Chatbot with efficient execution can help patients living in such areas by educating on the appropriate preventive measures, news on virus strains, reducing the psychological damage caused by the fear of the virus and mental effects of solitary isolation. This study displays and discusses the schematics of an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for the purpose of evaluation, diagnosis and recommending immediate preventive as well as safety measures for patients who have been exposed to nCOV-19, and doubles as a virtual assistant to aid in measuring the severity of the infection via symptom analysis and connects with the authorised medical facilities when it progresses to a serious stage. © 2022 IEEE.