Scientometric analysis on the use of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence, or intelligent conversational agent in the role of medical training

Introduction: In recent times, there has been a noticeable surge in the usage of artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT and other types, in the field of health sciences education. In this regard, an exploratory bibliometric study was carried out to examine the utilization of smart conversational agents, ChatGPT, and artificial intelligence bots in medical education. Methods: A retrospective, observational, cross-sectional bibliometric analysis was employed to assess the scientific publications listed in Scopus. This study was conducted on March 11, 2023 in search for information in Scopus. A total of 220 relevant documents were identified that were available in the Scopus database during the period between 2017 and 2022. Elsevier's SciVal software was used. Subsequently, statistical tables and graphs were prepared for presentation in Bibliometrix software. Results: Among the authors, Timothy W. Bickmore, from the United States, has the highest number of publications (10) and citations received (172), and an h-index of 45, suggesting a significant influence in the field of study. The subcategory with the highest academic output is Health Informatics with 133 publications, while Geriatrics and Gerontology has the least with only 3. Most of the analyzed publications (44.2%) originated from collaborations within the same country. Notably, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and Imperial College London stood out with 12 publications each that received over 200 citations indicating their significant impact on their respective fields. Despite having the highest number of academic publications (15), Brazil had a relatively low field-weighted citation impact (0.64) and received the lowest number of citations (81). A clustering analysis was performed on a sample of 10 concepts using 2 dimensions. The results indicated that all terms were part of the same cluster. Notably, the terms 'conversational agents', 'chatbots', 'conversational agent', and 'chatbot' were closely related. Conclusions: It was found that the American Bickmore, Timothy W., led the top-10 researchers, and that the Health Informatics subject area was the most predominant. However, Brazil and Germany were the leading countries in terms of research output that was mainly published in high impact journals (Q1).