Using Generative AI for therapy might feel like a lifeline – but there’s danger in seeking certainty in a chatbot

‘Turning to a chatbot for emotional support isn’t without risk, especially when the lines between advice, reassurance and emotional dependence become blurred,’ Carly Dober writes. Photograph: Maria Korneeva/Getty Images

Tran* sat across from me, phone in hand, scrolling. “I just wanted to make sure I didn’t say the wrong thing,” he explained, referring to a disagreement with his partner. “So I asked ChatGPT what I should say.”

He read the chatbot-generated message aloud. It was articulate, logical and composed – too composed. It didn’t sound like Tran. And it definitely didn’t sound like someone in the middle of a complex emotional conversation about the future of a long-term relationship. It also did not mention anywhere some of Tran’s contributing behaviours to the relationship strain that Tran and I had been discussing.