Evaluating AI Chatbots for Pediatric Contact Lenses: A Study on Accuracy, Readability, and Reliability

This study evaluated the accuracy, readability, and comprehensiveness of patient-facing responses generated by LLM-based chatbot platforms to pediatric contact lens (CL)–related questions, using expert grading and readability benchmarking. Five platforms (ChatGPT-4o, Gemini 1.5, Perplexity, Copilot, and Claude 3.5 Sonnet) were assessed using 28 curated questions. Two pediatric ophthalmologists graded anonymized outputs using DISCERN and PEMAT-P, 5-point Likert scales for accuracy and comprehensiveness, and multiple automated readability indices. Expert-written responses were included only for readability benchmarking. ChatGPT-4o produced the longest responses (p<0.0001). Accuracy and comprehensiveness differed across platforms (p=0.0216 and p=0.0067), with ChatGPT-4o scoring higher than Perplexity in post-hoc comparisons (p=0.0173 and p=0.0087). Expert responses were shorter but showed higher complexity on readability indices. Accuracy-based reproducibility was high for general pediatric CL queries but lower for aphakic CL–related questions (p=0.041), and factual inaccuracies were more frequent in aphakic topics. While LLMs may support patient education, variability in correctness and completeness underscores the need for expert oversight; these tools should complement, not replace, clinical expertise in pediatric CL usage.