Plan B One-Step: “Ask B” Chatbot (Foundation Consumer Healthcare, CultHealth)
When a woman needs Plan B One-Step, she is likely experiencing a very personal moment in her life that she may not have experienced before. With all of the myths surrounding emergency contraception, Foundation Consumer Healthcare and CultHealth needed to find a way to answer women’s questions and dispel any myths in a discreet, yet friendly and informative manner.
The team at CultHealth developed a chatbot named “B” that behaves and speaks more like a trusted friend than a computer. A QR code leading to “B” was promoted on shelf shouters in CVS and Walgreens nationally. The code was further amplified by TikTok influencers.
Pictured with a friendly photo of one of the actresses from the Plan B direct-to-consumer commercial, “B” is an eager-to-help friend who understands women’s situations. With no need to ask drugstore employees any personal, private, or uncomfortable questions, “B” has all the answers, negating the need for potentially awkward human interaction.
With colloquial language and text-savvy responses, the “Ask B” chatbot appears as a simple text message conversation. “B” behaves just like a confidant who is all-knowing when it comes to facts about emergency contraception.
Launched in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Ask B” has seen almost 1,000 daily users. As vaccinations increase and restrictions decrease, “B” is expected to gain even more traffic through in-store QR codes.
