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by Ashley Griffin
Kate Bulkeley uses her phone to print textbook pages while Sutton packs art materials ahead of a ski vacation, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Westport, Conn. It is hard to be a teenager today without social media. For those trying to stay off social platforms at a time when most of their peers are immersed, the path can be challenging, isolating and at times liberating. It can also be life-changing. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A growing number of adolescents and young adults in the United States are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for help with their mental health, according to new research published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Researchers found that about 19% of Americans ages 12 to 21, roughly 8.2 million people nationwide, reported using an AI chatbot for mental health advice in 2025. The study found the number has increased significantly from a similar survey conducted a year earlier.
The nationally representative survey included 1,009 adolescents and young adults and examined how often they used AI chatbots, whether they found the advice helpful and whether they told anyone about using the technology.
Researchers asked participants whether they had used AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Meta AI, Snapchat's My AI and Character.AI, for advice when feeling sad, angry, nervous or stressed.
Among those who said they had used AI for mental health advice:
The study also found AI chatbot use was more common among females, older teens and young adults, and those who had spoken with a physician about their mental health during the previous six months.
Researchers cautioned that the findings should not be interpreted to mean AI chatbots are a replacement for licensed mental health professionals.
While many participants reported finding the advice helpful, the authors noted that AI systems can sometimes provide overly agreeable responses and that more research is needed to better understand the quality and safety of the guidance they provide.
Instead, researchers said the study highlights how quickly AI has become part of young people's mental health landscape and underscores the importance of parents, educators and health care providers talking with adolescents about how they are using the technology.
The researchers also acknowledged several limitations, including that the survey relied on self-reported responses and did not evaluate whether the advice provided by AI chatbots was accurate or clinically appropriate.
2026 Sinclair, Inc.