We created the first Facebook chatbot that helps teens with alcoholism. Over 20 hours of testimonials from real AA members were collected and turned into data to fill the chatbot. For every question, there is an answer from someone who knows exactly how a person with drinking problems feels, without any judgements. Like at AA meetings, people stayed after reading the stories and identifying themselves in them. From the 12 steps of recovery to general information about the disease, all content was made to guide people to a nearby group, which can be done simply by sharing your location. The Anonymous Friend is also able to help an alcoholic in relapse by finding an urgent group and help non-alcoholics with alcoholic friends or relatives by giving tips and ways to approach them.

We implemented the idea using Facebook Chatbot technology for Messenger. The campaign used AA members' real stories to directly create a bond with viewers, just like it happens in the meetings.

It took us 4 months to put this idea on the air. First, we had to deepen our knowledge about the disease, and then design a huge conversation flow to cover the most important points of the subject. After that, we collected over 20 hours of real AA members' testimonials and turned into data to fill the conversation flow, programmed the bot and created the campaign to encourage people to interact with it.

The first Anonymous Friend was made for Brazil, but we are making this project open-source since AAs around the World are willing to implement the chatbot in their countries.

Anonymous Friend became teens' first step of recovery. A platform born in their world, available 24 hours a day in the privacy of their phones, so they didn't have to feel ashamed to ask for help. The impact for Alcoholics Anonymous was huge. In the first week, the page received over 28k likes and over 100k conversations in the chatbot. In addition, 65% of groups were reached through geolocation, increasing daily requests for help on AA's email by 1300%. Major groups registered a 20% increase of new members in their meetings.