Character.ai has become popular among young people who don’t have the resources to see actual therapists. The platform receives 3.5M visitors daily, and while many of the chatbots are purely for entertainment purposes, 475 relate specifically to therapy and mental health. Among the various personas available, the Psychologist bot has been particularly sought after, receiving a total of 78M messages. Thirty-year-old Sam Zaia, creator of the Psychologist bot, says he wanted to give himself “someone or something” to talk to while his friends were busy. While he doesn’t believe an artificial intelligence bot can fully replace a human therapist, he continues to keep an open mind about how technology can develop. YPulse’s Trend Predictions report for 2024 predicts young people will grow more reliant on AI chatbots as “DIY doctors” due to healthcare appointments being prohibitively expensive, particularly in the U.S., and mental health care is certainly part of this trend. (BBC)
Reports and Webinars are limited to the Region terms of your Pro and Prime subscription, as shown in “Purchased Regions”.
- To filter all content types to individual Region(s) you have purchased, apply your Region(s) under “Purchased Regions.”
Articles, Video Updates, and News across all Regions are open to all Pro and Prime subscribers.
- To see this content for any Region, use the “Content Filter”.
