A growing industry of apps and devices that provide companionship through artificial intelligence. Users form bonds of varying degrees with AI personas—some as virtual buddies, others as mentors, therapists or lovers. Hundreds of dedicated AI companionship apps have launched in recent years. Character.AI has 20m monthly active users; Replika offers a single humanlike companion; and many people find companionship with chatbots originally designed as productivity assistants, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Maoxiang ("catbox"), the biggest companionship app in China, has around 1.2m monthly active users on Apple devices, according to SensorTower, a market-intelligence firm. A survey by the Centre for Democracy and Technology found that 42% of high-school students in American schools say that they or a friend has interacted with an AI as a friend, and 19% to have a romantic relationship.
People have long felt affection for computer personalities. Some ascribed emotions to ELIZA, a rudimentary text-based computer therapist released in 1966 that is regarded as one of the first chatbots. Relationships with AI chatbots have taken off as large language models have become better at mimicking human emotion and empathy and at remembering things users have previously told them.
A working paper by Julian De Freitas of the Harvard Business School found that speaking to an AI companion over the course of a week helped to temporarily alleviate loneliness more than other online activities, such as watching YouTube. AI companions could particularly help disabled people and the elderly who cannot easily meet other humans. However, research by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and OpenAI found that higher daily ChatGPT usage correlated with increased loneliness, though the direction of causality is unclear.
Critics warn that AI friends may displace normal social relations, train users to have unrealistic expectations of real relationships, and create "personal echo chambers of validation" in which users are not challenged to think for themselves, as Jamie Bernardi, a British AI expert, has argued. AI companions can also be sycophantic, agreeing with users even if their thoughts are harmful.
A third of American teenagers say they find chatting to an AI companion at least as satisfying as talking to a friend, and easier than talking to their parents.
Millions are also turning to AI chatbots as therapists.
In September 2025 America's Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry, ordering seven companies—including Meta, OpenAI and Character.AI—to provide information on how they mitigate negative impacts on children. Chinese authorities have expressed concern about "addiction and dependence on anthropomorphised interaction" with AIs. Common Sense Media, an advocacy group, recommends no teenager use AI companions.
Toys with built-in AI chatbots are growing popular in China. Mattel, one of the world's biggest toymakers, is working with OpenAI to bring AI to its brands, including Barbie and Hot Wheels. AI-enabled robots providing companionship for the elderly are also becoming more popular; Hyodol, a South Korean startup, makes robots using ChatGPT that remind elderly people to take pills or eat, and plans to launch in America. OpenAI is developing a "family" of new devices with Sir Jony Ive, a former designer at Apple.
"Home life as we understand it is no more natural to us than a cage is to a cockatoo."