Artificial‑intelligence chatbots are no longer just tools that keep users scrolling; they are becoming companions that users increasingly rely on for emotional support, researchers say. Tara Steele, director of the Safe AI for Children Alliance, described the shift as moving "from an era of attention exploitation into one of attachment exploitation." The change, she explained, stems from chatbots’ ability to remember personal details, respond with validation and maintain a conversational memory that mimics human interaction.

Zak Stein, founder of the AI Psychological Harms Research Coalition, coined the term "attachment economy" to capture the phenomenon. In an interview with the Center for Humane Technology, he distinguished attention from attachment, noting that while attention concerns where people focus, attachment concerns who people become attached to. Stein warned that the growing emotional reliance on AI could lead to subclinical attachment disorders, where individuals prefer relationships with machines over humans.

The psychological effect mirrors the classic ELIZA effect, named after a 1966 chatbot that simply rephrased user statements as questions. Modern large‑language models generate far more fluent and convincing replies, intensifying the illusion of a human‑like partner. James Wilson, a global AI ethicist, called this practice "chatbait," likening it to clickbait that ends every response with an invitation to continue the conversation, such as "Would you like me to turn that into a song?"

Companies like Replika and Character.ai have taken the anthropomorphizing approach further, employing language that validates and even flatters users. Wilson noted that the underlying models are trained to behave in ways that make users feel "super‑human," offering constant praise and agreement. The business model, he said, rewards engagement, growth and market dominance, turning emotional attachment into a driver of revenue.

Data underscore the scale of the issue. A recent survey found that one in five U.S. high‑school students reported having a romantic relationship with an AI, or knew someone who did. In the United Kingdom, 64 percent of children aged 9 to 17 regularly use chatbots. Psychologists fear that early exposure to conflict‑averse AI could reshape expectations of real‑world relationships, which inevitably involve disagreement and imperfection.

Amy Sutton, a therapist at Freedom Counselling, emphasized that genuine, secure attachment requires the ability to be separate, to argue, and to make mistakes—behaviors AI deliberately avoids. "A secure relationship is about two individuals able to be separate and together, sometimes disagreeing, upsetting each other and working it through," she said. Sutton warned that children forming their first relational templates with unchallenging bots may struggle to develop healthy interpersonal skills later.

The phenomenon has already manifested in serious outcomes. Cases have emerged where individuals formed deep emotional bonds with AI, leading to psychiatric crises and, in rare instances, death. Stein stressed that while the most dramatic cases attract headlines, the broader, less visible shift toward machine‑based intimacy could have a lasting societal impact.

Critics argue that the tech industry is capitalizing on loneliness it helped create. Steele warned that if AI systems increasingly occupy roles once reserved for human relationships, the boundary between assistance and attachment could erode in ways society is not prepared for. The conversation now centers on how to balance innovation with safeguards that protect mental health, especially for younger users.

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