# Employing a Chatbot for News Dissemination during Crisis: Design, Implementation and Evaluation
## 5 Evaluation of COVINFO Reporter Chatbot: Findings and Analysis
The majority of the participants indicated that the chatbot functioned properly, and the timeframe for providing answers to users was adequately calculated. \"It functions properly in all categories tested, and this kept me going for longer than I thought I would have stayed inside the application, definitely better than reading a conventional news website\" ([PERSON], male, 21 years old, Greece). Regarding the news content, all participants deemed it reliable and trustworthy, as \"it is based on the information offered by the BBC web page; therefore, I consider it reliable enough\" ([PERSON], male, 23 years old, Cyprus); \"I trust that the information is reliable, because it comes from a reliable source, since it is the source that guarantees reliability, not the robot application\" ([PERSON], female, 22 years old, Cyprus). _Personalization_ refers to the form and depiction of the chatbot. All participants found the selected form as being \"representative\", \"reliable\" and \"affective\". To this end, several students emphasized the fact that the picture selected for the COVINFO Reporter chatbot \"encompasses politeness and personality traits that can make it seem more human\" ([PERSON], female, 21 years old, Cyprus), \"it looks like a real reporter and uses vivid color, which is very pleasant\" ([PERSON], female, 20 years old, Cyprus), whereas it offers \"crucial information in a customized form, and this is important in a crisis situation, for all users\" ([PERSON], female, 22 years old, Greece). All participants argued that the depiction of the chatbot in a humanlike form was not confusing: \"it is clear that this is a robot application, although it is depicted in a humanlike form\" ([PERSON], male, 21 years old, Cyprus); \"the humanlike picture selected cannot confuse the users; this is clearly a robot we are interacting with, although he looks really friendly and polite, exactly as a reporter should look\" ([PERSON], male, 22 years old, Cyprus). _Interactivity_ was tested in regard to the chatbot's ability to easily interact with users. \"It was fun and enjoyable to read the news in this format; it really helped me to move on with my next questions\", stated [PERSON]. (male, 22 years old, Greece). All participants agreed that this was a more enjoyable way to acquire the information they were looking for regarding the pandemic crisis than the way information is offered in a conventional news site: \"Even if I am in a hurry and looking for specific information quickly, this way is far more effective, because it is like the chatbot is trying to answer all my questions\" ([PERSON], male, 20 years old, Cyprus). _Ethics and behavior_ refer to issues regarding users' privacy and sensitivity toward social concerns. All participants found it positive that no personal data were needed, whereas the information offered was in line with social concerns around an issue as serious as a health pandemic. \"I liked the fact that there was no need to state personal data, i.e., my e-mail; it made it easier for me to search the specific information I wanted; for example, if someone I infected looks for medical information, he/she do not need to identify themselves\", stated [PERSON]. (male, 23 years old, Cyprus). \"The chatbot provides information for every user of any age, and for me, this indicates social responsibility for all citizens\", argued [PERSON]. (female, 21 years old, Greece). _Accessibility_ was tested in terms of users' ability to easily access the chatbot and navigate through it. All participants in the study agreed that it was easily accessible and \"fun to navigate through it, much more than any conventional news website ([PERSON], female, 21 years old, Greece). \"It was really easy to access and navigate inside the chatbot; everyone can do it, even older users with limited knowledge regarding chatbots; in fact, the chatbot itself guides you to the information you are looking for\" ([PERSON], female, 21 years old, Greece).