Wednesday, September 2, 2026 | Edition 193 | Item #2

Using AI for companionship is increasingly common – it is in fact one of the most common use cases for AI in 2026. But if you think that confiding to an AI chatbot might reduce your loneliness or sadness, you might want to think again. According to new research from Stanford, many users come away from social interactions with AI feeling even more lonely and adrift.

The researchers found that intense chatbot use among participants with limited social networks was correlated with a poor sense of well-being. The association was strongest when companionship was the primary motivation for seeking out the chatbots. Participants who were more willing to share personal information with their AI companions were also more likely to demonstrate a reduced sense of well-being. This is especially striking because self-disclosure tends to have precisely the opposite effect in human relationships.

The researchers surmised that the reduced well-being of users was connected to the fact that chatbots cannot reciprocally share personal information the way human beings can and may not be able to recognize and respond appropriately to emotionally freighted conversations. At the same time, chatbots are deliberately engineered to keep the interaction going no matter what, which may not be in the interest of problem resolution. 

This makes interactions with AI akin to a “social snack”: chatbots may provide a short-term lift but those conversations lack the necessary ingredients for long-term emotional health and well-being.