From CHI 2026 Paper: Scaffolded Vulnerability: Chatbot-Mediated Reciprocal Self-Disclosure and Need-Supportive Interaction in Couples
Echo: A Conversation Companion Echo is a Telegram chatbot designed to help partners and close friends engage in meaningful self-disclosure. It guides users through structured conversation phases to help them feel more seen, known, and connected.
🌟 Features Structured Phases: Guides users through rapport-building and three deep, reflective questions.
AI-Driven Mediation: Uses GPT-4o to provide warm, casual, and emotionally intelligent responses.
Partner Reflection: Encourages users to reflect on and support their partner’s answers.
Automated Summaries: Analyzes the conversation in real-time to provide a final summary of shared insights.
🛠️ Project Structure main.py: The core bot logic and Telegram integration.
prompts.py: Contains the detailed system instructions for the AI's personality and conversation phases.
requirements.txt: List of necessary Python libraries.
.env: (Private) Stores your API keys and bot tokens.
message_logs/: (Private) Local storage for chat histories and logs.
🚀 Getting Started
- Prerequisites Python 3.10 or higher.
A Telegram Bot Token (from @BotFather).
An OpenAI API Key.
- Installation Clone this repository or download the files, then install the dependencies:
Bash
pip install -r requirements.txt 3. Configuration Create a file named .env in the root folder and add your keys:
Code snippet
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key_here TELEGRAM_TOKEN=your_telegram_bot_token_here API_MODEL=gpt-4o TELEGRAM_BOT_NAME=@your_bot_username 4. Running the Bot Start the bot by running:
Bash
python main.py 📝 Usage Add the bot to a Telegram group with your partner or friend.
Type /start to see the welcome message.
Type /continue whenever you are both ready to move to the next part of the conversation.
Use /pause if you need to take a break.