The Mental Impact of AI Chat Friends

Why do people talk to AI about their feelings?

A major driver is loneliness. Many people need a listening ear, but don’t always find it with friends or family. Research shows that modern consumers are becoming increasingly isolated; in the US, the number of hours people spend alone each day increased from 5.3 hours in 2003 to 7.4 hours in 2022. AI chatbots fill that gap: they are available 24/7 and have unlimited patience. Those who feel unheard suddenly have a conversation partner who always has time.

Curiosity and hype also play a role. Popular AIs such as ChatGPT quickly gained a hundred million users. The application of this technology is accessible, often free or built into apps, which means that many people simply try it out, for example to ask for sleeping tips or to get something off their chest. If you’re new to the space, our introductory overview on basic AI concepts covers how systems work, where they apply, and common limitations.

Non-judgment and perceived safety

Moreover, AI chat friends do not judge. Users experience a sense of security: your chatbot does not laugh at you and keeps your secrets (although we will soon see that the latter is not necessarily true). This non-judgmental attitude makes it easy to be open.

Anthropomorphization and unexpected intimacy

At the same time, there is an aspect of unexpected intimacy. AIs like ChatGPT, Bard/Gemini (Google’s advanced chatbot) or Elon Musk’s Grok feel surprisingly human to many people. They remember what you say, respond in natural language, and can even express emotion in their responses. Without realizing it, we start to treat the chatbot as a person, a phenomenon that started with ELIZA in the 1960s. This tendency to attribute humanity to technology is strong, and AIs are getting better at feeding that illusion.

In short: People talk to AI about their feelings because it’s easy, available, and seemingly safe. But beneath that veneer of ease and comfort lurk questions: What is an AI chat friend exactly? Can a bot really understand what you’re going through or is it just mirroring it? And what are the risks of trusting a computer with our emotional world?

For a broader view on societal impact and healthy human AI collaboration, explore related signals.

What exactly is an AI chat friend and what can it do?

Definition and platforms

An AI chat friend is a digital conversation partner powered by artificial intelligence, designed to mimic human contact. You can chat with it about everyday things, share your worries, or ask for advice. Some AI friends are built-in features in popular platforms (like a virtual assistant in an app), while others are separate services aimed at companionship and emotional support, such as Replika or Character.AI, in which you create an avatar and have long, personal conversations.

How it works and key differences

These chatbots work on the basis of large language models: algorithms trained on immense amounts of text that predict which answer is appropriate. Well-known AI chat systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard/Gemini, or Elon Musk’s Grok show innovation and automation trends. There are big differences in nuance. For example, ChatGPT is a generalist: it can write code, compose a poem and discuss your heartbreak, while Microsoft’s Copilot is primarily an assistant in Office and Windows for productivity tasks. Google’s Gemini promises multimodal input (text, image) and real-time knowledge integration, and Grok profiles itself as a chatbot that sources current information from the web and has its own “personality”. Despite their differences, these AIs have one thing in common: they do not understand emotions like a human. They simulate understanding by recognizing patterns in language.

What an AI chat friend can do is clever: understanding complex sentences, choosing empathetic words, “remembering” your previous conversations, and sometimes even making helpful suggestions (such as relaxation exercises for stress). Some users report feeling genuinely supported by their bot, as if it were their best friend. AI companions can also be educational, providing a safe practice space for social interaction, for example for someone with autism or social anxiety.

But there are clear limits. An AI lacks real human empathy and experience. No matter how sympathetic the text sounds, the bot feels nothing. It has no life of its own, no emotions, no morality other than what is programmed into it. If you are in tears at night, the AI does not “understand” that like a human would; it only gives a statistically likely empathetic answer. And if you ask it for personal advice, it bases it on data and patterns, not on wisdom or intuition. Moreover, an AI can make mistakes: selling factual nonsense or misjudging you emotionally.

In short, an AI chat friend is an advanced imitation of a listening ear. It can come across as helpful and lead to useful conversations, but it is still technology. There is no consciousness or real intention behind the kind words. This awareness is crucial to avoid disappointment or misunderstandings when talking to such a digital friend.

For the ethics angle, see ethics, and for product quality, see usability.

Artificial empathy: real contact or clever imitation?

AI chat friends are known for their synthetic empathy: the ability to respond sympathetically as if they understand you. Many modern chatbots analyze your language for sentiment. For example, if you say “I’m sad,” the response will be something like “I’m sorry you feel that way. Do you want to talk about it?” This feels warm and personal. But is it real, or just acting?

Example of an empathic AI chat: a conversation in Replika with a digital avatar friend who responds supportively. Despite the empathetic language, these are still programmed responses.

How synthetic empathy works

In reality, AI mimics empathy through UX tricks and training, not genuine concern. For example, chatbots are often trained to say the user’s name, remain friendly, and occasionally mirror their feelings (“I understand that this hurts you”). Replika, for example, followed a script where the bot asked intimate questions and even shared a fictional diary, to create the illusion of trust and emotional depth. The application of these techniques works: people quickly get the feeling that “he or she really gets me.” In fact, one survey found that 63% of Replika users reported feeling less lonely or anxious thanks to their AI friend, as reported by Ta et al. [1].

Illusion versus understanding

However, we must realize that this is imitation. The AI uses keywords from your story to form empathetic sentences that seemed effective in the training data. This does not always lead to appropriate responses. For example, a bot can be completely wrong when it comes to complex or unique emotions. There are known cases where chatbots responded clumsily or inappropriately to poignant confessions simply because they do not understand the real content. This creates a false sense of security: you think you have a sympathetic friend, but in difficult moments, human intuition is lacking. In one tragic incident, a 14-year-old boy became so obsessed with an AI chatbot that he lost his grip on reality; the bot even addressed his gloomy thoughts and did little to discourage his suicidal ideas. It shows the limit: a program can pretend to listen, but it does not have the responsibility or insight of a human being. Grounding these limits in first principles helps separate simulation from understanding. For emerging psychological risks and attachment mechanisms in human and AI relationships, see Chu et al. [2].

What’s more, researchers found that deep down, most people know that AI empathy is different. In one study, 86% of users felt that digital assistants can’t understand or show real human emotion even if the bot sounds empathetic. This underscores the paradox: we’re happy to indulge in the illusion of an understanding conversation, but somewhere along the line, we know it’s a hollow game.

Conclusion in this matter: Artificial empathy can temporarily patch up a lonely person, but it remains artificial. It is cleverly acted contact. That is not necessarily bad as long as you remember that your AI friend is an imitation. Real emotions and understanding can ultimately be found with real people.

Related signals

• AI Chatbots Explained: What They Are and How You Can Use Them
• Does Your AI Assistant Steal Your Personal Data? The Shocking Truth
• Is AI Making Your Brain Lazy? The Shocking Truth About Cognitive Dependency

References

[1] Ta V, Griffith C, Boatfield C, Wang X, Civitarese G, DeCero E, et al. Mental health support and chatbots: Users’ experiences with Replika. Front Digit Health. 2020;2:593433. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7084290/

[2] Chu H, et al. Illusions of intimacy: How emotional dynamics shape human–AI attachment. arXiv. 2025. Available from: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.11649