Review
Open access
Sep 2026
Tool or Companion? Reframing Conversational AI to Prevent Psychological Harm
Abstract People increasingly turn to conversational AI for companionship, emotional support, and well-being, using both purpose-built companion apps, such as Replika and Character.AI, and general-purpose assistants, such as ChatGPT and Claude. While some evidence suggests potential benefits, including short-term reduct...
Asia Maurich Novelli, S. Shergill, A. S. Teixeira
· JMIR Mental Health · 0 citations