Analysis Links Chatbot Companionship to Lower Well-Being

Jay Van Bavel, Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at NYU, posted on X about an analysis of 1,131 US adults using Character.AI. The study found that people with smaller real-world social networks reported companionship as their main reason for chatbot use, and this pattern was associated with lower well-being. The tweet states that many users form companionship-like bonds with chatbots. It includes a screenshot of what appears to be a peer-reviewed paper on the topic.