Can an AI Chatbot Replace Therapy?
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the rise in all kinds of applications and its use is a contentious issue.
From writing to coding to image generation and beyond, AI tools are starting to show up more and more online, in our tools, apps, and on our phones. Some people are wholeheartedly embracing the increased presence of AI while others are vehemently opposed to it.
Whether you view AI as a boon or bane, the truth is probably somewhere in between. Like any new technology, there are benefits as well as problems.
The rise of cell phones led to greater connectivity and convenient access to technological resources while decreasing the amount of time we spend face-to-face, even when immediately next to someone. Social media provides a way to find communities of people who are like us, which can be important for minorities and marginalized communities, but led to increased dissatisfaction with life and body-image issues by also making it easier for people to compare themselves to others.
The use of AI has created tools such as Be My AI, which is a part of the Be My Eyes app that allows people with visual disabilities to use their phone to get assistance in describing objects, environments, reading documents or labels, and more.
On the other hand, there is growing concern over the use of AI as a way to cut costs by replacing artists and animators, leading to worry about job security in the art, animation, and gaming industries.
Another area of growing concern is the use of AI chatbots instead of going to traditional therapy with face-to-face therapists either in person or with online video appointments. The American Psychological Association has raised concerns about the safety and privacy issues around the use of AI chatbots for therapy, including recent lawsuits in which AI chatbots presented themselves as therapists - resulting in harmful actions by the people using the chatbots.
Regardless of your feelings on the use of AI, it’s likely here to stay. You may already be using an AI tool as a form of therapy or are perhaps considering it. As with any technology, it pays to know what you’re getting into and where there might be pros and cons to consider.
We’ve Been Here Before
In the early days of the Internet, WebMD came out in 1998 to provide the public with a handy resource for researching problems or symptoms they may have been experiencing to get a better idea of possible causes. This empowered users to have a handy way to start figuring out what was going on and what they might do about it.
The problem, however, was that this sometimes led folks to not follow up with an actual doctor. Convinced they knew what they were experiencing and what they needed to do, they didn’t consult with a professional who could definitively say that, yes, their conclusions were correct or, no, it was something else that required a different form of treatment.
Mental health problems can be tricky to sort out, especially when it comes to the root cause of what you may be experiencing. Anxiety and depression can be the result of neurochemical imbalances in the brain and require medication. Or, alternately, they may be the result of a medication you’re currently taking and would be addressed by changing medications or dosages.
Other times, they may be the result of patterns of behavior like avoidance that make the problems worse. They may be the result of lifestyle issues, stress, or even things like sleep and nutrition. Things that you experienced in the past you may not think of when you hear the word “trauma” may be affecting you.
While an AI chatbot can help you get ideas, much like sites like WebMD can help when you’re experiencing physical problems, it can only get you so far without the help of a real, live professional.
Why Would Someone Use AI Chatbots for Therapy?
There are a few reasons why it makes sense more and more people are turning to online chatbots for therapy instead of going to an actual therapist.
Using AI instead of therapy is free.
With an uncertain economy and the cost of therapy already a challenge for many - even with insurance - free is a pretty sweet price point for something that feels like it has therapeutic value. And while it does have a lot to offer, you do ultimately get what you pay for.
Using AI instead of therapy is convenient.
Going to a therapist involves making time in your busy schedule to go to a session. You have to find a therapist who can fit you in before work, after work, or during lunch. And usually, the last thing you want to do is go through a therapy session then have to collect yourself in time for your next meeting. There is also the time to travel to the therapist’s office and wait, which takes more time out of your day.
With an AI chatbot, you can engage as much or as little as you like, even in the late hours of night when you’re struggling to sleep because you’re anxious about your problems.
Of course, this can be offset by seeing a therapist who offers online counseling by telehealth, but the convenience alone may not be enough.
Using AI is easier than doing your own research.
Here is one area where AI does actually offer some solid advantages, but also with a cost - much like WebMD. With the rise of AI chatbots combing the Internet in response to your prompts, you have a tool that can search through websites much faster than you can.
Instead of typing a term like “how to deal with anxiety keeping me awake” into a search engine and reading countless pages, articles, and blogs (like this one) for hours and hours, you can have an AI chatbot give you a summary. Didn’t quite find what you needed? Another quick question to the chatbot can help you refine your search for helpful information.
It’s like having your own servant going through a library and doing the work for you so that you can get the choice bits of information you really need. And no doubt that is a powerful tool.
But it also comes with the responsibility of making sure the information is accurate. While there is a lot of good information online, there is also a lot of bad information as well – and that can be a problem if you don’t know the difference.
For example, an AI chatbot might suggest you do a body scan as a relaxation technique. But what if you need a way to lower stress and anxiety because of your relationship with your body due to gender dysphoria, body-image challenges, or chronic pain? In situations like that, tuning into your body may be the last thing that is helpful.
So, it’s still on you to cross-check information to be sure it’s good information.
Using AI instead of therapy feels safe.
It can feel very vulnerable to share your worries and challenges with another person, even someone like a therapist. You might worry about being judged for struggling with alcohol use, porn addiction, or questions about your sexuality or gender identity.
Using an AI chatbot to talk about these things can feel safer because you’re not telling anything to an actual human being. This may be especially appealing if you’ve had bad experiences with therapist who were, in fact, judgmental or didn’t really work with you in the ways you needed.
But this sense of safety and comfort may also part of what keeps you stuck rather than supporting lasting change.
Using AI instead of therapy can feel good without expecting anything from you.
Admitting you’re struggling with something is hard. Doing something to change how you respond to your problems is even harder.
Many people start therapy thinking it’s a place for them to come and vent about their day-to-day problems with the idea that venting alone is what makes things better. And, to be fair, venting can feel really good when you’re doing it with someone, or something in the case of a chatbot, that you feel is listening and understands you.
But the venting alone isn’t what creates change in your life. Talking only about your problems keeps your focus on the problems.
While the counseling relationship is considered the most important factor in therapy, good therapy doesn’t just seek to help you feel better. It’s designed to help you ultimately live better. This comes by making changes in your life such as learning tools for accepting the things you can’t change, managing your physical reactions to stress and worry, and engaging in new behaviors that take you toward the life you want rather than away from the things that are important to you.
An AI chatbot isn’t going to hold you accountable and help you brainstorm when setbacks happen. And setbacks do happen. A human therapist, on the other hand, will be compassionate with you when you’re struggling to make change but also help you consider where your approach needs to be modified to help move you toward success.
When you get down to it, therapy eventually involves doing something hard and uncomfortable. An AI chatbot can make it feel like you’re doing something without challenging you to do those uncomfortable things that will bring about real, lasting change.
What Can a Real Therapist Do That an AI Chatbot Can’t?
While AI chatbots will continue to grow in use in place of therapy, there are some things that these chatbots will never be able to do, or at least not do for a long, long time.
AI chatbots cannot provide human connection.
Yes, yes… I hear you. “Obvious statement is obvious.” And that’s true, but so is the fact that humans are wired for human connection.
Research that emerged during and after the COVID-19 pandemic revealed more about how social isolation affects your mental and physical wellness. In The Extinction of Experience, author Christine Rosen discusses how the richness of human connection that involves things such as body language, tone, inflection, and more are missing from online interaction.
With an AI chatbot, there isn’t even the sense of connection to a human on the other side of the interaction. This leads into one of the next limitations of AI chatbots for therapy.
AI chatbots cannot draw from personal experience.
While AI chatbots can pull information from all over the Internet, which does include things people write about related to their personal experiences, the chatbots cannot put this together in a way that lets you know someone really gets you. Chatbots also cannot offer insights that may be uniquely useful to you based on shared experience.
There are times in therapy when you know your therapist understands you even when you aren’t saying anything. And given how many therapists often specialize in things they have experienced, themselves, that understanding may go beyond mere professional training.
For example, while an AI chatbot can offer you ideas on how to cope with alcohol use due to depression or anxiety, it will never truly understand your struggles like another person who has gone through recovery, themselves. An AI chatbot cannot understand what it’s like to come out as queer later in life, the struggles of adapting to a disability, or what it’s like to experience impostor syndrome.
A human therapist who really understands can provide a level of insight and creativity an AI chatbot cannot – and that connection can be a powerful support for change.
AI chatbots cannot understand your nonverbal communication.
Have you ever told someone, “Everything’s fine” when they asked but did it in a way that was obvious that everything was not fine? Maybe part of you even made it obvious everything wasn’t fine in the hopes someone would notice and ask, letting you see that they cared.
How did it feel when they saw how you looked away or slumped and crossed your arms and then said, “Are you sure? You can talk about it, you know.”
Nonverbal communication makes up a large part of human interaction. This interaction is absent when chatting online, though we often make up for it in part with the use of emojis to convey emotion or text cues like “…” to simulate a pause to think. This limitation is even greater, however, when typing on a computer that cannot interpret our tone and body language to ask, “Are you really okay?”
Therapists, on the other hand, are trained to notice when your words and body language don’t align. A good therapist will also know when to challenge you by pointing out the mismatch and when to let it go for the moment because it might be prying into too much too soon.
AI chatbots cannot hold you accountable.
As discussed above, it can feel safe to know your AI chatbot “therapist” will never want to talk about why you didn’t do that thing you said you would do to help make change in your life. But that lack of accountability can also be part of what keeps you stuck.
While it can be uncomfortable to know you have to tell your therapist that you didn’t do something you said you would at your next session, that discomfort can be part of what motivates you to actually do it so that you don’t have to tell them you didn’t do it. And, if you do tell them something didn’t quite go according to plan, they can help you decide what needs to be changed.
Sometimes a challenge is genuinely too great and needs to be modified. It doesn’t mean you failed or screwed up, but just that there need to be some tweaks. A good therapist will help you confront the challenge or setback in ways that help you feel supported but also compassionately challenged to make the changes you know will lead you to a better way of living.
How to Use AI Chatbots and Real Therapy Together
A large part of therapy is all about becoming more mentally flexible and avoiding all-or-nothing or black-and-white thinking. So how can you combine the benefits of AI and actual therapy to help increase your chances of success? Here are some ideas:
AI chatbots are useful for:
Helping you develop a good description of your problem. This can help save time when you’re talking to your therapist, especially if you get really talkative when nervous or can’t find the right words to express yourself.
Identifying the emotions you’re experiencing. While a therapist will help you learn to do this by tuning into your mind and body, an AI chatbot can be useful to help you find more detailed words than “I want to feel happy” or “I’m always upset.” This can be especially useful if you struggle with describing emotions due to being neurodivergent or experience alexithymia - which is a difficulty in identifying your emotions.
Gathering information easily. This saves you a lot of time reading individual websites looking for information.
Picking through the information to find what makes the most sense to you. With all of the information offered, select the things that you think will best help your therapist understand what you’re experiencing and what you want from therapy.
Researching psychological tools like mindfulness, breathing, thought-stopping, and EMDR to get a list of things you’d want to try. You can then talk with your therapist about these to see which might be worth trying.
Then take this information to your therapist to:
Come up with a treatment plan that you both feel good about. Ideally, your therapist won’t make all of this seem like some big secretive thing only they know. You want a therapist who works with you to help you help yourself, which includes collaborating with you on a treatment plan that takes into account the person you are, the person you want to be, and the way you want to be living in the world.
Figure out how this all fits into your lived experience. While you might have good information from working with an AI chatbot, a human therapist can help you apply it to your unique situation to help you make sense of it all.
Connect the dots in your life. A human therapist can help guide you toward insights in a way that an AI chatbot cannot. A therapists can ask questions you might not think of and see potential relevance in something you overlooked, such as how the way you were treated in childhood may affect how you act now in relationships as an adult.
Come up with ways to challenge yourself appropriately. I know I’m a broken record on this, but the challenge factor is so important to actually making change. A therapist will also be able to help you understand what helps motivate you to challenge yourself. Some people need insight to then step into the discomfort of change. Other people need a concrete goal and may not care about insight. Your therapist will help you tap into the strengths that are unique to you.
Practice the psychological tools and skills you found in your search. A good therapist won’t just tell you about mindfulness, box breathing, or challenging your thoughts about social situations and send you on your way. You’ll practice using these in your sessions so that you have a better idea of how to use them when you really need them. And unlike AI, you can work with your therapist to change what isn’t working and build on what does work to get even better at it.
Get the human element. While the world around us is changing, we’re all still human at the end of the day. As inconvenient and as uncomfortable as therapy can be, that human connection is a part of what supports or mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.
Love it or hate it, AI is going to continue to have an impact on the way we live and interact.
Fortunately, you still have the power of choice when it comes to living with intention and defining how much or how little AI affects your life… Pinterest searches not withstanding.
If you’re one of the folks who is excited by the prospects of AI and tempted to use it instead of seeing a real, live therapist, consider the pros and cons listed above. Much like having a personal trainer for fitness or an instructor for art, having an actual person to interact with and throw ideas around can accelerate your progress toward your goals.
Go forth, challenge yourself, make change, and be well fellow human.
Are You Looking for a Real, Live Therapist in Arkansas to Make Lasting Change?
MoonPath Counseling, LLC offers therapy for solution-oriented individuals who are feeling stuck in life and frozen by self-doubt, overthinking, and worry. Want to get clear on your goals and take on the challenge of making real, lasting change happen? I offer online counseling to reach you no matter where you are in Arkansas and in-person sessions for those in Northwest Arkansas.
Use the button below to schedule a free, 20-minute phone consultation to talk more. Or contact me by phone, text, or email.
Resources:
Abrams, Zara. Using generic AI chatbots for mental health support: A dangerous trend. American Psychological Association. 2025.
Jeffers A, Meehan AA, Barker J, Asher A, Montgomery MP, Bautista G, Ray CM, Laws RL, Fields VL, Radhakrishnan L, Cha S, Christensen A, Dupervil B, Verlenden JV, Cassell CH, Boyer A, DiPietro B, Cary M, Yang M, Mosites E, Marcus R. Impact of Social Isolation during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Homelessness: Qualitative Interviews with Behavioral Health Providers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022.
Rosen, Christine. The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. 2024.
Stubbe, DE. The Therapeutic Alliance: The Fundamental Element of Psychotherapy. Am Psychiatr Publ. 2018