UK’s Maxwellia Creates AI Influencer To Counter Hormonal Contraception Misinformation

Cheshire, England-based women’s health specialist Maxwellia has launched an online information service powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to help educate young women about hormonal contraception.

With physical features, voice, and content all created using AI, and delivering health information checked and validated using reputable medical sources, interactive digital avatar “Lovi” is Maxwellia’s response to a recent social media trend encouraging women to stop taking the pill.

With over nine million views on TikTok, the trending #gettingoffbirthcontrol campaign features videos of women sharing negative side effects they have experience while taking daily contraceptives, such as weight gain, acne and depression, and advocating the benefits of switching to “natural” contraception methods, for example using apps to track menstrual cycles.

“TikTok and other social media channels are proving to be invaluable in raising awareness, breaking taboos, and making contraception an accessible topic,” commented Maxwellia CEO Anna Maxwell. “But we must be mindful of causing unwarranted anxiety around hormonal contraception.”

Worried that this trend could trigger a rise in unwanted pregnancies, Maxwellia – which alongside HRA Pharma last year switched the UK’s first progestogen-only contraceptive pills to OTC status – designed Lovi to provide an alternative trusted source of information. (Also see "HRA Pharma And Maxwellia To Launch The UK’s First OTC Daily Contraceptives" - HBW Insight, 9 Jul, 2021.)

“Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly, so we wanted to see how we could use it as a force for good by balancing the lived experiences of those using hormonal contraception with clinical statistical data,” added Kim Wathall, senior brand manager for Lovima – Maxwellia’s OTC daily contraceptive switched in 2021 (75mcg desogestrel).

Maxwellia hopes that Lovi will add “factual, informative, and trustworthy content” and “context around some of the most common side effects” to conversations around daily contraceptives like the OTC progestogen-only contraceptive pills marketed by both Maxwellia and HRA Pharma in the UK (the latter also 75mcg desogestrel, branded as Hana).

“AI is an amazing concept and one that I am sure will have an interesting role to play in the future of healthcare,” continued Wathall. “However currently, it’s not quite where we need it to be in terms of factual reliability.”

“Generative AI tools pull their content from a range of sources, so we must use it with caution. People that are engaging in Lovi’s content can be assured that the information is factually correct, and references are available for any of the content by request.”