Introduction Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent a significant global health burden, leading to substantial disability and socioeconomic impact. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models-driven conversational agents (chatbots), there is potential to enhance the management of MSDs. However, the application of AI-powered chatbots in this population has not been comprehensively synthesized.

Objective To explore the current and potential use of AI-powered chatbots in the management of MSDs. The review will map out the targeted diseases, the purposes of chatbot interventions, the clinical tools or frameworks utilized in training these systems, and the evaluated outcomes in clinical settings.

Methods This scoping review will follow the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, with a comprehensive search across multiple databases including Medline (Ovid MEDLINE), Embase (Ovid), ISI Web of Science (wos; clarivate) and ClinicalTrials.gov. Studies involving adults with MSDs, regardless of publication status, language, or year, will be included. The scoping review will exclude studies using non-AI chatbots or human health coaches. Data extraction and synthesis will focus on demographic characteristics, chatbot methods, outcomes, and thematic analysis.

Ethics and dissemination Formal ethical approval is not required as this study involves neither human participants nor unpublished secondary data. Findings of the scoping review will be disseminated through professional networks, conference presentations and publication in a scientific journal.

Strengths and limitations of this study

We developed a search strategy with high sensitivity to retrieve studies

This scoping review will not exclude studies by publication status, language, or year of publication.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This is a protocol for a scoping review. Formal ethical approval is not required as this study involves neither human participants nor unpublished secondary data.

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I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

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This is a protocol for a scoping review, and all data produced in the present work will be contained in the manuscript