AI as a friend: a quarter of Americans seek personal guidance from chatbots
A Washington Post–Elon University poll finds 27% of U.S. adults use AI chatbots for personal, emotional or social queries, with younger adults more likely to rely on AI as a companion. Many describe AI as a friend or confidant and say it helps with stress or loneliness, but researchers warn the relationship is complex and privacy concerns grow as chats can be stored, used to train models, and appear in investigations or lawsuits. The findings, alongside UC Berkeley and Anthropic studies, show AI’s rapid integration into private life and raise questions about safety, data handling and potential overreliance.