Evidence base
PubMed
How Does Turning to AI for Companionship Predict Loneliness, and Vice Versa?
What it found
This 12-month longitudinal study followed more than 2,000 adults across four Western countries, examining the relationship between social chatbot use and loneliness. It found that increased chatbot use predicted increased loneliness over time, and framed the relationship as bidirectional: lonely people are drawn to chatbots, and that use appears to deepen loneliness further.
Why it matters for practice
The bidirectional design is what makes this worth reading closely; it moves past the simpler claim that lonely people simply seek out AI companionship and suggests a reinforcing loop that programme designers and clinicians recommending AI tools for isolation should not assume away.