In a survey of 404 people who regularly use AI companions, researchers from the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, found that 12% were drawn to the apps to help them cope with loneliness and 14% used them to discuss personal issues and mental health. Forty-two per cent of users said they logged on a few times a week, with just 15% doing so every day. More than 90% reported that their sessions lasted less than one hour.

The same group has also conducted a randomized controlled trial of nearly 1,000 people who use ChatGPT — a much more popular chatbot, but one that isn’t marketed as an AI companion. Only a small group of participants had emotional or personal conversations with this chatbot, but heavy use did correlate with more loneliness and reduced social interaction, the researchers said. (The team worked with ChatGPT’s creators, OpenAI in San Francisco, California, on the studies.)

“In the short term, this thing can actually have a positive impact, but we need to think about the long term,” says Pat Pataranutaporn, a technologist at the MIT Media Lab who worked on both studies.