AI-driven chat analysis for parent empowerment

Abstract

Parenthood is a pivotal stage in the human lifespan, deeply influencing family well-being and quality of life. Over recent decades, parenting has faced significant changes and challenges, raising crucial questions about how to support parents and strengthen families as safety nets for children. Addressing these concerns is the "Parent Chat" project—a three-year collaborative initiative (2025–2027) funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charity Foundation.

Through the partnership of five NGOs, the project offers a blend of online and offline services, centered on the key principle of parent empowerment. Its primary goals are to enhance parents’ emotional well-being, foster better parent-child relationships, promote positive self-image, and strengthen parenting competence and self-efficacy.

The online component provides text-based counseling via platforms like WhatsApp, SMS, and WeChat. To evaluate the effectiveness of these online sessions, daily chat transcripts are analyzed using a custom AI platform. By employing Large Language Models (LLMs), the system can track shifts in parental concerns, monitor emotional changes, and identify emerging themes. This approach offers scalability, real-time reporting, and adaptability—advantages that surpass traditional manual analysis.

Preparations for the AI model’s development include synthetic data generation and training using existing data from 160 parent interview transcripts. Through hierarchical analysis, the model detects broad dimensions of parental experiences and delves into granular details, such as emotional states and changes. This paper outlines the development of the AI system, highlights the emerging themes identified, and explains its implementation in the "Parent Chat" program to monitor changes in parental well-being and evaluate the intervention.

The "Parent Chat" project illustrates how AI can bridge the gap between service delivery and evidence-based policy and practice. By fostering parent empowerment, this initiative represents a proactive and innovative approach to social intervention, contributing to the enhancement of family well-being.