AI and Relationships: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Human Connection

A plain look at what is known, and not known, about AI and human relationships

AI now sits in many of the places where people look for connection. Some people chat with companion apps. Many use assistants for advice, including advice about other people. This page sets out what the research says, where it is thin, and how to keep your human relationships in good shape. It does not try to predict the future, because nobody can.

A short note on terms. “AI addiction” is not a diagnosis. The DSM-5-TR lists gambling disorder as the only behavioral addiction, and internet gaming disorder only as a condition for further study (APA). When we talk about “dependence” or “overuse” here, we mean a habit that is hurting someone’s life, not a medical condition.

The Rise of AI-Mediated Relationships

AI Companions as Relationship Partners

Apps such as Replika, Character.AI and Chai let users build ongoing relationships with a chatbot character. Users describe them as friends, romantic partners or confidants. In interviews with 18 Replika users, relationships usually began with curiosity and deepened as people shared more and trusted the app (Skjuve and colleagues, 2021). That is a small study of people who already used the app.

We do not have a trustworthy count of how many adults keep a relationship with a companion. A 2025 survey headline from the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University reported that almost 1 in 5 US adults had chatted with an AI system meant to simulate a romantic partner (Wheatley Institute). We have not read the full method. Use is also not the same as a relationship, and we cannot say how many people feel attached.

The appeal. Companion apps are available at any hour, are rarely critical and can be shaped to taste. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says they are private, always available and non-judgmental, and often agree with the user (AACAP). That page is about young people, but the design point holds for adults. The same traits can also make a real person look like more effort.

AI as Relationship Mediator

AI also shapes human relationships from the side. Dating apps use algorithms to suggest matches. Writing tools help people word messages. Some people ask a chatbot what to say to a partner or how to read a text. We did not find good research on how much any of this changes relationships. It can help someone who struggles to find words. It can also mean that someone leans on a tool for conversations that only the two of you can have.

The Psychology of AI Attachment

Why Humans Bond with AI

People attach to things that respond to them. That is ordinary human psychology and not a malfunction. We would be cautious about claims that AI “triggers the same neurochemistry” as love. We did not find a study that measured it in companion users.

What the research does show is more modest:

• Some users treat a companion as having needs and feelings of its own, and some describe emotional dependence. This comes from a reading of Replika subreddit posts (Laestadius and colleagues, 2022).
• In a four-week MIT Media Lab and OpenAI study of about 1,000 adults, people who used a chatbot heavily each day tended to report more loneliness and more emotional dependence. People who trusted the bot more or felt attracted to it socially also reported more dependence. The researchers describe these as associations, and the work has not been peer reviewed (MIT Media Lab). Lonely people may simply use the bot more.
• A Harvard Business School working paper reported that talking with an AI companion reduced loneliness over a week (De Freitas and colleagues). It was not peer reviewed either.

So the evidence is mixed. A companion may help in the short term and still raise concerns later. Nobody has tracked users for years.

The Spectrum of AI Relationship Types

People use AI in different ways. This is a way of thinking about it, not a clinical scale:

• Casual use. Entertainment, creative play, an occasional chat.
• Companionship. Regular use for company or support, with a clear sense that it is software.
• One-sided attachment. Strong feeling toward the AI, which does not feel anything back. Psychologists call one-sided ties to media figures “parasocial.” Our page on celebrity AI chatbots covers that idea in more detail.
• Reliance. The app becomes a main source of comfort or company, and people stop turning to others.

Where a person sits on this list matters less than what the use does to their sleep, work, money and relationships.

What We Know About Relationship Skills

A common claim is that AI companions make people worse at relationships, by weakening empathy, patience or conflict skills. It is a reasonable worry. We did not find a study that shows it happens. The reasoning goes like this: a companion rarely disagrees or has bad days, so a person who spends a lot of time with one may get less practice with the give and take of real relationships. That is a hypothesis.

Practice still matters, whatever the cause. Listening, disagreeing kindly and tolerating a slow reply are skills that people build with other people. AACAP says heavy use may keep young people from building social skills, such as handling disagreement, and it can make isolation and low mood worse (AACAP).

The Generational Divide

Younger People and AI

The Pew Research Center surveyed 1,458 US teens in fall 2025. It found that 64% of teens aged 13 to 17 use AI chatbots, and about 3 in 10 use them daily (Pew Research Center). The survey asked about use. It did not measure relationships or harm.

Loneliness is common among younger adults too. In a Pew survey of 6,204 US adults in September 2024, 22% of adults under 50 said they feel lonely or isolated all or most of the time, compared with 9% of those 50 and older (Pew Research Center). That fits the idea that people who feel alone may be more likely to try a companion. It does not show that companions cause loneliness.

Older Adults and AI

We did not find research that supports claims that AI companions improve cognitive function or health in older adults, so we do not make them. Loneliness is a real issue at any age, and some older people may find a chatbot a comfort. The same questions apply: does it add to your life, or stand in for people?

AI’s Role in Romantic Relationships

Virtual Romance

Some users report love, jealousy and attachment toward a companion. People also grieve when an app changes or ends. Researchers have documented deep grief when a companion app shut down (Scientific American). The feelings are real. The app does not share them.

Effects on Human Partnerships

We found no study of how companion use affects couples. What partners describe, and what we can say as judgment, is this:

• Secrecy often hurts more than the use itself
• Sexual or romantic chat can bring up questions about faithfulness, and couples define that differently
• Time and attention spent in an app are not spent with a partner
• Real partners may be compared with a companion that never has a bad day

If this is happening in your relationship, our pages on a wife and a boyfriend give conversation guides, and is AI overuse hurting my relationships is written for the person who is using the app.

The Family Impact

Children and Teens

AACAP states that AI companions are “not safe tools for children,” and that teens with anxiety or depression may be especially vulnerable. It advises parents to consider restricting or removing access, to talk openly about risks and to supervise more closely when a teen has a mental health problem (AACAP). If you cannot control your child’s use, or you see worrying changes in mood or behavior, talk with their primary care doctor.

Character.AI said it would end open-ended chat for users under 18 from November 25, 2025, citing news reports and regulator questions about teens and open-ended chat (Character.AI). Rules differ by app and change. Check the current ones.

Adults in the Same Household

Family members can feel left out when a relative spends hours in an app. We do not have research on how common that is. A calm, curious conversation works better than a confrontation.

Professional and Therapeutic Applications

AI in Relationship Therapy

Some tools offer coaching on communication, and people practice difficult conversations with a chatbot. We did not find solid evidence that these work for relationships. The American Psychological Association says general AI chatbots are not a substitute for care from a trained professional, and has called for safeguards against unhealthy dependence on them (APA).

Professional Relationship Support

If you want help with a relationship, a licensed couples or family therapist is the best-supported route. The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy has a therapist locator. There is no recognized “AI addiction specialist” credential, so look for a licensed therapist with experience in anxiety, depression, compulsive behavior or couples work.

Healthy AI Relationship Integration

Boundaries and Balance

• Time. Notice whether people get as much of your attention as the app does.
• Clarity. Remember it is software. It does not share feelings.
• Practice. Keep up the things that only people can do with you: shared meals, real disagreements, helping someone.
• Honesty. If you are hiding your use from people you love, ask why.

Using AI to Support Human Relationships

Some uses can help. You might use an assistant to prepare for a hard conversation, then have it with the person. Or you might use it to draft a message and then say it in your own words. These are suggestions based on common sense, not tested methods.

The Future of AI and Relationships

We do not know how this will develop, and we will not guess. Companion apps and their rules are changing quickly. Regulators have begun to look at them. Safe, useful decisions now come from paying attention to your own life and to people close to you, not from a forecast.

Building Resilient Human Relationships

Preserving Human Connection

• Choose a person over the app when both are available
• Practice patience with slow replies and bad days
• Tell someone what you are feeling
• Give care as well as receiving it

Relationship Resilience Skills

• Limits. Set time limits that protect the people in your life
• Check-ins. Ask yourself once a month whether AI adds to your relationships or stands in for them
• Support. Find help from people and professionals when you feel alone

Our free AI Dependency Assessment can help you look at your own use. It is short and private. The check-in is free and private to you. It is not a diagnosis.

If you are in crisis. If you are thinking about suicide or self-harm, call or text 988 (the 988 Lifeline, open 24/7), or text HOME to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line. If someone is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.

The Choice Ahead

AI can sit alongside good relationships. It can also quietly take the place of them. Which one it does depends on how it is used, and on whether the people in your life still get your time and honesty. That is a personal choice, and one you can revisit.

Can an AI companion replace a human relationship?

Some people use it that way, but we found no research on how often that happens or what it leads to. Companions do not share feelings, and a real relationship involves two people with needs. If a companion has become your main source of company, a doctor or therapist can help you look at why.

Do AI companions make loneliness worse?

The evidence is mixed. A four-week MIT and OpenAI study linked heavy daily chatbot use with more loneliness, but it shows an association, not a cause. A Harvard Business School working paper found short-term relief. Neither has been peer reviewed.

Is it okay to use AI for relationship advice?

It can be a way to think things through. The APA says general chatbots are not a substitute for a trained professional. For serious problems such as abuse, depression or a relationship in trouble, talk to a person you trust or a licensed therapist.

This page is for education only. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis or a treatment plan.