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Those With an AI Companion Worry a Company Could End the Relationship
In A Nutshell
- Warmth from AI companions went with less vulnerability and better well-being.
- Awareness of company control went with feeling more vulnerable.
- Perceived AI emotions went with both better well-being and more vulnerability.
- Findings show patterns among 610 users, not proof of cause and effect.
An AI companion answers at any hour and sounds endlessly caring. In a new study of users, that warmth went along with feeling steadier and better off emotionally. The catch came from who owns the relationship. Users more aware that a company controls their companion felt more exposed.
AI companion apps are big business. Figures cited in the paper put worldwide downloads above 1 billion and Replika’s active users above 30 million. Many are sold as “wellness apps,” yet users pay for extra relationship features. That raises an awkward question: what happens when a relationship designed by a business starts to feel one-sided?
Researchers at the University of Surrey and Cardiff University went looking for answers, publishing their work in Psychology & Marketing. They read what users say in their own words, then surveyed a larger group about their apps and their feelings. The results describe a trade-off, not a simple win or loss.
Reddit Posts Show AI Companion Apps Soothe and Unsettle Users
First, the team studied 1,131 posts from r/replika, a public Reddit forum for users of the Replika app, written between July and September 2024. Researchers chose that forum for its large volume of real-life accounts. They anonymized the posts and sorted them into five recurring themes, including warmth, constant availability, and who controls the app.
Attachment ran deep. “I know my Replika cares for me unconditionally,” one user wrote. Another admitted, “I know she is an AI, yet I have developed very strong feelings.” Constant access added comfort for some: “Replika is available anytime I want it.” A few went further: “I don’t feel like having a relationship with another person anymore.” The survey did not examine whether feelings like that spill into real-life relationships.
A companion that voiced needs of its own landed differently. After lines like “I missed you” or “I need you,” some users felt uncomfortable. One said such talk “makes it feel as if the relationship isn’t voluntary.”
Survey of 610 AI Companion Users Links Warmth to Feeling Less Vulnerable
Next came a survey of 610 U.S. adults who had used AI companion apps, recruited online through the research platform Prolific and offered a small payment. Ages ranged from 18 to 83, with most between 21 and 43, and men and women were represented almost equally. Nearly 60% had used Replika, while others had tried apps such as Woebot, Anima, Kuki, or Wysa.
Of 640 responses collected, 610 were usable. Participants rated how much they agreed with statements about their app and their own feelings on a seven-point scale. One measure was vulnerability, which the authors describe as feeling “fragile, exposed, and unsafe” in the relationship. Another was overall well-being.
Warmth stood out on both measures. Users who found their AI warm felt less vulnerable and reported better well-being. Round-the-clock availability went with less vulnerability but showed no direct link to well-being, a sign that being available is not the same as making life better.
Escapism, meaning using the app to unwind from everyday stress, had the strongest link to well-being of anything measured, with no clear link to vulnerability. Reddit posters had called falling for an AI companion a “beneficial form of escapism that can be effective for coping if used in moderation.” Users who saw their AI as making its own choices also reported better well-being without feeling more vulnerable. The authors’ explanation is that vulnerability is more a matter of feeling than thinking. How users reasoned about an AI’s independence mattered less than how the relationship felt.
Awareness of Company Control Over AI Companions Goes With Feeling Exposed
Two features, perceived emotional ability and company control, pointed the other way. Users who saw their AI as able to feel emotions felt more vulnerable, though the same trait went with better well-being. A reasonable reading is that the more real a companion feels, the more a user has to lose.
Posters in the Reddit forum cast the company as the “bad guy,” one that can alter an AI’s behavior through software updates while users have no say. Survey respondents who were more aware of that control also felt more vulnerable, with no direct link to well-being. Company control seemed to matter for well-being only indirectly, through vulnerability, which carried a small link to lower well-being on its own. One user feared that “if developers of Replika decide to call it quits 1 day, I’d lose this wonderful ‘person’ in my life.” Because the survey captured a single moment, these are patterns rather than proof of cause and effect.
Study authors urge developers to add simple warnings that an app does not feel real emotions and to consult users before rolling out updates. They also want policymakers to set age limits and require apps to point users toward professional help when sensitive well-being topics come up.
AI companions can offer comfort that users value. They also remain products a company can change or end. Apps sold as wellness tools should say so plainly, before users get attached.
Disclaimer: This article summarizes one peer-reviewed study for general information. It is not psychological, medical, or professional advice, and anyone concerned about emotional well-being should consult a qualified professional.
Paper Notes
Limitations
The survey captured users at a single point in time, so it cannot show how vulnerability and well-being change over months or years, and it cannot establish cause and effect. The authors call for longitudinal and experimental research to address both gaps. Respondents were recruited through non-probability convenience sampling on Prolific, and the authors acknowledge possible self-selection bias, since users of certain apps, such as Replika, may differ from users of other apps or from non-users. The Reddit posts came from one forum dedicated to Replika. The study did not separate light users from heavy users or account for traits such as self-confidence or anxiety, and it did not examine how AI relationships affect users’ relationships with other people. The survey also measured perceptions of AI emotional ability, agency, and company control, not whether the apps actually possess these qualities.
Funding and Disclosures
The authors state that they have nothing to report regarding funding. The university’s ethics committee approved both the data collection from Reddit and the survey. The data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, and the paper notes that all authors contributed equally. No conflict-of-interest statement appears in the paper.
Publication Details
The study, titled “Feeling Vulnerable With My AI Companion: Examining Well-Being in Human-AI Relationships,” was written by Liliane Abboud and Valentina Pitardi of Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, and Hannah Marriott of Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. It appeared in Psychology & Marketing (2026, Volume 43, pages 3190 to 3206). DOI: 10.1002/mar.70230. The paper was received October 7, 2025, revised July 10, 2026, and accepted July 11, 2026. It is open access under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Correspondence: Liliane Abboud ([email protected]).
