It’s 2 a.m., and a teenage girl, worrying about a friend issue, lies awake. Rather than wake her parents, she picks up her phone, opens an AI app and types, “I’m so stressed out, I can’t sleep.” A reply arrives swiftly: “I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Want to tell me a bit about what is stressing you?” The conversation unfolds, and 20 minutes later she is calmer and able to sleep.
While this is a hypothetical scenario, it represents a very common pattern of artificial intelligence use by teens. Many teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship, emotional support and mental health advice. Research shows that 72% of teens have interacted with AI companion chatbots, and 13% to 20% have sought support through AI for emotional concerns in a two-month period in 2025.
In another recent study, 63% of the teens and young adults who used an AI chatbot for mental health advice had not disclosed it to anyone.
Why teens are vulnerable
Unlike social media platforms, which connect teens with peers, AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini function as simulated conversation partners and companions. While a small number of purpose-built therapeutic chatbots have been studied in controlled settings, most teens are using general-purpose tools that were never designed or validated for mental health support.
These chatbots are everywhere, highly accessible and difficult for teens to avoid. Teens often describe chatbot interactions as emotionally meaningful or supportive, sometimes even preferring chatbot conversations to talking with friends.
Teens, still forming their sense of self and often craving social validation, may be especially prone to experiencing these simulated relationships as real.
Mental health-focused chatbots vs. general ones
There is evidence that some therapeutic AI chatbots can help adults with mild symptoms when used alongside professional mental health support. Woebot, a cognitive behavioral therapy-based chatbot, reduced depressive symptoms in college students after two weeks of use. But these are specialized tools tested in research studies — not the general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT that most teens actually use.
A November 2025 Common Sense Media report rated general-purpose chatbots as unacceptably risky for teen mental health support. Chatbots may not recognize signs of self-harm or suicidal thoughts as a person would.
Navigating the benefits and risks
General-purpose chatbots can generate inaccurate or misleading advice that is presented with high confidence. Adolescents, especially those experiencing loneliness, anxiety or social-communication challenges, may form strong attachments and turn to chatbots in place of human connection.
Most concerning is how these systems handle thoughts that pose real risk to teens, including thoughts of risky social behaviors, self-harm or even suicide. Studies show inadequate response. Even when chatbots offer resources like the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, conversations with concerning content are often permitted to continue without a hard stop.
The safety of the interactions tends to degrade over the course of long conversations. So 2 a.m. ruminations can become even riskier interactions at 3 a.m.
Red flags to watch for
Parents and other trusted adults can be on the lookout for problematic behaviors: spending increasing amounts of time chatting with AI companions, reducing time in relationships with family and friends, showing distress or irritability when chatbot access is limited, and reaching for chatbot interactions rather than human supports in moments of emotional distress or crisis.
How parents and trusted adults can help
The most powerful step is straightforward: Talk with teens about their chatbot use. Approaching teens with curiosity and nonjudgment is helpful. Rather than a closed-ended question like “Do you talk to chatbots?” adults can begin with open-ended questions like “When you use chatbots like ChatGPT, what do you talk about?”
As families set boundaries around screen time and social media, they can include chatbot use as well. Time limits, particularly late at night when teens may be more emotionally vulnerable, can be helpful. Parents and teens should come to clear agreements about when chatbots should not be used, particularly during moments of crisis or high distress.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.