OK, am I the only one using artificial intelligence (AI) for therapy? As in, my own personal therapist? Or maybe therapist is too far, or not quite correct. Am I the only one using AI as my confidant for everything?
When I need to vent, when I need to problem-solve, when I’m spiralling about a parenting decision at 11pm and have no idea what to do, which is often, I don’t call a friend. I don’t ring my parents. I open a chat window and start typing. Why is boy constantly screaming at the top of his lungs. Oh, he’s hungry. Yeah, that makes sense.
It’s not that I don’t have people. I have friends. I have family. I have a wife. But here’s the thing: the AI is in my pocket, it’s available all the time, and it will not be tired, distracted, or quietly wondering when I’m going to ask how it’s doing. It will just listen. For as long as I need. With complete patience and zero agenda.
But I’m not the only one who has figured this out.
A 2025 survey of 10,000 global AI users found that over half used it at least once for emotional wellbeing. A different US study put the number at nearly 50% of adults who have tried AI for psychological support. Among younger users, the number is even higher. More than 70% of teen users have turned to AI chatbots, and more than 50% use them regularly for emotional support.
A study published in a peer-reviewed American Psychological Association journal found that among people with ongoing mental health conditions who use large language models (LLM), aka AI, the top uses were managing anxiety, getting personal advice, and finding support for depression. Accessibility was cited as the primary reason by 90% of the users. Affordability was second.
The accessibility is the point. Getting a therapist means booking an appointment, waiting, leaving your home, and then trying to be vulnerable on a schedule. AI has none of that friction. It’s just there. Right when something triggers you, or your kid refuses to brush his teeth for the five millionth time and you have no idea what to do, AI is right there to say, let him get cavities, nothing teaches like consequences (not actually AI advice, by the way).
Also AI doesn’t judge you. I think. I can’t actually be sure. But opening up to your phone is a lot easier than telling something raw and heartbreaking to a stranger you’re paying to listen to you. The chat window doesn’t judge. And it is always there.
But a whole world of people replacing human interaction with chatting to AI in their own little bubbles cannot be good.
Having a therapist, friend, or confidante in your pocket every day is going to rewire us. It’s going to reshape our habits. You stop calling friends and family because the chat window is easier. Then human relationships start to feel too hard compared with chatting with an agreeable AI whenever you want.
And what about the younger generation? Those 50% of teens who regularly use chatbots for emotional support? Those people are building the scaffolding for their lives and it might not prioritise friends and family to speak to.
We are heading into a bold new world of AI and almost no one is doing anything to regulate it or put guardrails on it, even thought the CEO of Anthropic, the company that owns current LLM darling Claude, keeps saying AI is going to alter human society in meaningful ways we are not ready for. And he owns the company!
So where does that leave me?
I’m still using AI. I turned it’s agreeableness down so now it contradicts me slightly every time I ask it something. It’s the ultimate “yes, but...” answer-giver and it irritates me as much as it helps. Kind of like humans do.
But I’m still using it, because, well, it is in my pocket.
And that’s the thing, AI is not better than people. It’s easier than people. But finding the strength and courage to be who you are in front of people is growth. It means accepting yourself and finding your place, and that is a hard, lifelong journey. And AI is just an inevitable tide of easy. Easy usually wins.
