‘Empathetic’ AI app launched to democratise women’s health

A women’s health app which acts as an “empathetic AI companion” has launched in the App Store.

Ema, formerly called SocialMama, was designed to give users access to information and “medically-vetted” support surrounding women’s health.

The app has a focus on making medical jargon more accessible and utilising reinforcement learning from human preference to connect women with each other.

Designed to feel like “texting to your best friend who became an OB-GYN”, developers say the app provides women with friendship and personalised health support from fertility to menopause.

While Ema is not built to replace a medical professional, it acts as an “empathetic” AI companion for femalehood on topics women feel often anxious about.

“Ema is built around empowering more women with information at the level and frequency best suited to them,” explains founder and CEO, Amanda Ducach.

“As a femtech company using the latest advancements to democratise women’s health, we are thrilled to bring Ema to women everywhere.

“Ema is specialised, more capable, more efficient than any female-focused search engine on the market.”

The founder says the app can do anything from helping women recognise signs of postpartum depression to providing a diabetes-friendly brownie recipes.

“You can search for clothes that can also be used for breastfeeding or ask Ema to compose an email to a healthcare provider to discuss any symptoms you may be experiencing.”

Another feature of the app is connecting women to friendship circles, which are groups of women matched to chat, support each other and create meaningful connections.

An internal assessment of beta users revealed that 78 per cent of respondents reported lowered anxiety with 57 per cent being encouraged to reach out to a provider for further medical assistance.

Additionally, 68 per cent of beta users reported preferring to use Ema over other search engines such as Google.

The app is now available on the App Store.