Survey Finds 19% of Young People Use AI Chatbots for Mental Health Advice

A new survey estimates that 8 million adolescents and young adults in the United States use AI chatbots for mental health support when they feel stressed, angry or sad. The research institute RAND asked 12- to 21-year-olds whether they had used services such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini for advice during emotional distress.

Nineteen percent of respondents answered yes, an increase from 13% recorded in the group’s early-2025 survey.

The results were published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers also asked whether respondents found the chatbot responses helpful; the vast majority said they did. Sixty-three percent of those who used the tools had not disclosed their activity to anyone else.

The share of young people using AI chatbots for mental health advice is close to the percentage who report receiving professional therapy. Researchers said some may use both, but many appear to rely on chatbots because of shortages of licensed professionals or limited access.

Outside experts expressed concern that chatbots are not designed to manage crises. Data from OpenAI indicates that in a given week 1.2 million users signal they are considering suicide.

““Right now, AI chatbots are essentially self-regulated. There are basically zero safety or quality standards that are required by federal law.””

A spokesperson for OpenAI said the company has added crisis-detection systems that connect users to emergency services and parental controls that alert parents when serious safety risks appear on a teen’s linked account. California and New York enacted laws last year requiring chatbots to direct users toward crisis services when suicide or self-harm language appears.

Illinois passed a measure that prohibits the use of AI as therapy. Dr. Jodi Halpern, a psychiatrist at UC Berkeley who was not involved in the survey, said the period from early teens through early 20s is when people form intense attachments most quickly and urged companies not to design chatbots that imitate human relationships.