Recent data indicates that 50-60% of individuals who die by suicide do not seek professional help before their deaths. However, there is a lack of effective techniques to identify and connect with these individuals, underscoring the urgent need for innovative approaches to reach those "under the radar” (UtR).
A promising intervention method involves strategically displaying search engine ads on the results page. These ads can divert attention from potentially harmful content, interrupt the search process, and, when clicked, guide individuals to a carefully designed landing page equipped with resources and links to encourage help-seeking and de-escalate potential suicidal crises.
This presentation outlines how a search engine ad, paired with AI-driven ad optimisation, allowed us to develop an intervention that identifies UtR individuals and presents tailored messaging to increase help-seeking.
We utilised Google Ads to display search page ads to individuals searching for suicide-related keywords. For first-time visitors, a brief questionnaire preceded access to the landing page, with questions about their history of seeking professional or social help. Those answering "no" to either question (i.e. no prior help-seeking) were directed to a page featuring messaging and options designed to promote help-seeking among those who had not sought assistance previously.
We conducted an optimisation and pilot trial in Indonesia with a randomised control trial (RCT) in Australia. In the optimisation trial, we worked with an ad agent to target more characteristics and keywords of individuals who had previously responded “no.” The optimisation process increased the number of UtR individuals we could reach in a day by 2.8 times, suggesting the process was successful in increasing reach those who had not sought help.
The pilot intervention yielded promising results, with 85% of individuals who had not ever shared their suicidality with another person reaching out for help through actions such as calling a hotline, searching for a psychologist, or initiating a conversation on WhatsApp with the intention of sharing their struggles with a peer.
In the RCT, individuals who had not sought professional or social help in the last 6 months were either shown a co-designed messaging addressing perceived barriers to help-seeking or a generic help-seeking message. The trial is ongoing, and results will be presented in the presentation.