Nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults are turning to AI chatbots for advice when they’re sad, angry, nervous or stressed, according to a new study.

The findings, from the research institute RAND, represent an increase from early 2025, when the nonprofit conducted a similar survey. At the time, around 13% of respondents said they used chatbots for such advice, but the share rose to 19% in the group’s latest survey in November, the results of which were published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

“It’s a sad number, because you’d hope that young people would have the sorts of supportive relationships that they would feel comfortable and empowered reaching out to those around them,” said Ryan McBain, a senior policy researcher at RAND and the lead author of the study.

For the new survey, McBain and his team asked people ages 12 to 21 whether they had used a service like ChatGPT, Google Gemini or Character.AI for mental health advice. The survey questions did not differentiate between chatbots specifically designed to offer therapy and those with many uses.

The researchers also asked whether the young people surveyed found the chatbot’s advice helpful, which the vast majority said they did. Around 63% of respondents said they had not told anyone about their use of artificial intelligence for therapy.

The share of young people using AI chatbots for mental health advice is close to the percentage of adolescents who report receiving mental health therapy from a professional. Some people may use both tools, the researchers said, but they suspect that many are using AI chatbots as fill-ins due to a shortage of licensed mental health professionals or a lack of access to one. Other young people may use AI in these situations because they are already accustomed to using it for other purposes.

But outside experts worry about young people turning to chatbots during mental health crises, which AI is not designed to help navigate. Data from OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has suggested that in a given week, 1.2 million users indicate they’re considering suicide.

McBain said his findings suggest that more regulation is needed to make sure young people use chatbots appropriately.

“Right now, AI chatbots are essentially self-regulated. There are basically zero safety or quality standards that are required by federal law,” he said.

McBain added, however, that there can be positive uses of AI related to mental health, such as for finding tools to assist with meditation or sleep.

Some studies have shown that, in the short term, chatbots specifically designed to offer cognitive behavioral therapy — an approach that helps people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and shift their behavior accordingly — can help with symptoms such as anxiety or depression.

Some mental health professionals have said that chatbot use could trigger or intensify delusions in vulnerable people, a scenario dubbed “AI psychosis.”

Other experts worry about young people developing parasocial relationships with chatbots.

“That’s the period in life, from early teens through early 20s, where we’re built to form the most intense attachments to other people very quickly,” said Dr. Jodi Halpern, a psychiatrist and co-director for the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science and the Public at UC Berkeley, who wasn’t involved in the survey. (Source: NBC News)

Story Date: June 3, 2026