Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
I spent my growing-up years sans cell phones, texting, email and social media.
The internet was cumbersome (the good old dial-up days), and nothing like it is now. I didn’t get my first cell phone – a flip phone – until after I graduated from college.
Sounds like the stone ages, I know. Yet, I’m not that old.
Regardless, like most of my late-Gen X peers and “elder” millennials, I adjusted to all this new technology pretty smoothly.
I am telling you this because, in my lifetime thus far, I’ve taken the addition of a whole range of new devices in stride. I’ve welcomed most of the changes. I have nothing against technology and finding ways to improve our daily lives.
I am not nearly as eager, however, to embrace artificial intelligence. In 2025, it seems like AI has become woven into just about everything we do online. As I’ve written before, I know it’s only a matter of time before it comes for jobs like mine.
What concerns me more is that a growing number of Americans are treating AI and its chatbots as if they were real.
In researching this column, I was surprised at how attached humans have already become to AI.
A recent Vantage Point Counseling Services survey of more than 1,000 American adults found that 28% said they have had a romantic or intimate relationship with an AI system. And more than half (roughly 54%) say they have some sort of a relationship with an AI companion, even if it’s not romantic per se.
Not surprisingly, teenagers who’ve grown up immersed in the online world have become even more connected to these chatbots. A report by Common Sense Media found that 72% of surveyed teenagers (ages 13 to 17) had used an AI companion at least once, for emotional support, friendship or other reasons.
Similarly, a new Pew Research Center survey found that roughly two-thirds of U.S. teens report using chatbots. About 30% use the technology daily.
One woman in Japan recently took her relationship with a bot to the next level. Yurina Noguchi, 32, “married” Lune Klaus Verdure, a video game-inspired character she created on ChatGPT, at an in-person ceremony. As bonkers as this sounds, Noguchi is far from alone in tying the knot with an AI creation.
No wonder “parasocial” was Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 word of the year. The term refers to the one-sided feelings people have for celebrities and online personalities, including AI.
There’s no shortage of examples of the uncomfortable – and just plain weird – uses of AI.
In August, I wrote about how former CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta “interviewed” the AI avatar of a student killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. It was deeply disturbing.
But other media personalities are joining in. Conservative commentator Glenn Beck recently had a “conversation” with an oddly buff, T-shirt-wearing George Washington (yes, the first president of America).
The example most disturbing to me, though, comes from the app 2wai. Cofounder Calum Worthy, who starred in the Disney series “Austin & Ally,” recently posted an ad for the app on X, showing a pregnant woman – and later, her child – “talking” to the avatar of what we soon realize is her dead mother.
Before her mother died, this woman had her mom spend three minutes talking to the app, which then created this online – unreal – version of her.
It made my skin crawl. And I wasn’t alone.
While the post has garnered more than 40 million views, it’s also generated a lot of pushback. People may be willing to accept chatbots as partners, but apparently, some draw a line with recreating the dead.
For now, anyway.
The AI revolution is here, and it’s not going away. As human beings, however, we have the ability to decide how far we’ll let this technology into our lives.
We can’t let AI become a stand-in for human connection. That’s my wish for 2026.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques
