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Interaction with AI companions and psychological well-being
Yutong Zhang1, Dora Zhao2, Jeffrey T Hancock3
1Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. yutongz7@stanford.edu.
Nature Human Behaviour
|August 5, 2026
Summary
Users with smaller social networks who use AI companions for primary chatbot interactions may experience lower psychological well-being. Intensive and highly disclosive chatbot use can strengthen this negative association.
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Psychology
- Artificial Intelligence Ethics
Background:
- Large language model (LLM) chatbots are increasingly sophisticated, fostering user-AI companionship.
- Understanding the psychological impact of these AI companions is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between AI companion use and psychological well-being.
- To identify factors influencing this association, such as offline social networks and usage patterns.
Main Methods:
- Collected self-reported data from 1,131 US adults using Character.AI.
- Analyzed survey responses and 4,664 chat sessions (464,687 messages) from 237 participants.
- Triangulated self-reported usage, relationship descriptions, and chat histories to identify engagement patterns.
Main Results:
- Smaller offline social networks correlated with prioritizing AI companionship.
- Prioritizing AI companionship was associated with lower psychological well-being.
- This association was amplified by intensive and highly disclosive chatbot interactions.
Conclusions:
- The impact of AI companionship on well-being is not uniform.
- User's offline social environment and specific interaction patterns significantly moderate the relationship between AI companionship and psychological well-being.
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