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NCT Number: NCT07661563

Advancing Scalable Alcohol Brief Interventions in the ED: A Trial of Conversational AI With Digital Reinforcements

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a novel digital strategy combining a generative AI counseling agent (MICA) and weekly SMS boosters works to reduce risky drinking among Emergency Department patients.

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Key information

Conditions

Alcohol Misuse Disease Attributes Emergencies Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Stanford University Medical Center

Palo Alto, California, 94304, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • For men: 1+ days with 5 or more drinks OR any week with 14+ drinks/week in the past 3 months
  • For women: 1+ days with 4 or more drinks OR any week with 7+ drinks/week in the past 3 months
  • Owns a mobile phone
  • Reads English language

Exclusion criteria

  • For women: current or planned pregnancy in next 12 months
  • Prisoner or active military status

Treatment and study plan

MICA

Behavioral

MICA is an AI chatbot that uses a secure API with ChatGPT and prompted to follow MI principles to support individuals in exploring and resolving ambivalence about their alcohol use. MICA follows a predefined conversational framework and steps: introduction, engagement, focusing, evoking, planning, and closing-adapted from Miller & Rollnick's Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change (3rd ed.).

TRAC

Behavioral

Weekly SMS check-ins designed to support goal-setting, self-monitoring, and adaptive self-regulation strategies. Beginning the Sunday after enrollment, participants will engage with an automated SMS program once weekly for 12 weeks. Prompts include reporting on the past week's alcohol use and whether they are willing to commit to a drinking limit goal for the upcoming week. Responses trigger tailored feedback.

Primary outcomes

  1. Mean weekly alcohol consumption

    Time frame: Baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups

    Participants report (1) the average number of days per week they consumed alcohol and (2) the typical number of standard drinks consumed on a drinking day. Estimated weekly alcohol consumption will be calculated as: Mean weekly drinks = (average drinking days per week) × (typical drinks per drinking day)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of heavy drinking days

    Time frame: Baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups

    Asking participants: "Over the past 30 days, how many days did you have 4+ standard drinks (women) / 5+ standard drinks (men)?"

  2. Number of drinks per drinking day

    Time frame: Baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups

    Asking participants, "Over the past 30 days, on a typical drinking day, how many drinks did you have?"

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Stanford University

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Trial of an AI Intervention to Help Individuals With Risky Alcohol Use Among Emergency Department Patients

Acronym: MICA-ED

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2030
Study completion
2031
First posted
Jun 22, 2026
Registry last updated
Jun 22, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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