ORLANDO, Fla. — AI girlfriends and boyfriends may be moving from internet novelty to a real relationship issue, according to a therapist who warns that romantic chatbots could change what people expect from dating.
Vantage Point Counseling surveyed 1,012 U.S. adults about their interactions and relationships with artificial intelligence systems.
The study found that 28.16% of adults said they have had at least one intimate or romantic relationship with AI.
More than half of respondents, 53.95%, said they have had some form of relationship with an AI system.
ChatGPT ranked as the top AI platform adults said they had a relationship with, followed by Character.ai, Alexa, Siri and Google Gemini, according to the study.
Dr. Michael Salas, a licensed professional counselor-supervisor at Vantage Point Counseling, said AI romance can feel appealing because it removes some of the emotional risks involved in dating.
“AI partners can feel easier because they give people a sense of connection without the same fear of rejection,” Salas said in a news release. “You can be desired, agreed with, comforted, or sexually curious without having to sit with another person’s boundaries, moods, needs, or disappointment. That can feel good in the moment, but it does not build the same relational muscles.”
Salas said real dating teaches people how to handle awkward conversations, delayed replies, rejection, conflict and repair.
He warned that people who become used to romantic connection with an AI system that is always available and adjustable may begin to see real dating as unnecessarily difficult.
The study also found that adults who reported being in successful relationships were more likely to pursue intimate or romantic relationships with AI.
Salas said that raises questions for couples about whether hidden emotional or sexual interactions with AI cross boundaries in a relationship.
“The question couples need to ask is not only, ‘Did anything physical happen?’” Salas said. “They also need to ask, ‘Are we keeping emotional or sexual intimacy hidden from each other, and does that secrecy violate the relationship we agreed to have?’”
According to Vantage Point Counseling, younger adults were more likely than older adults to view romantic AI relationships as cheating when someone is also in a romantic human relationship.
The study found that 56.52% of adults ages 18 to 29 said having a romantic or intimate AI relationship while in a human romantic relationship is cheating and unacceptable.
Among adults 60 and older, 50.29% said those relationships are not considered cheating.
Salas said occasional curiosity may not be the main concern. The bigger risk, he said, is when AI becomes the only place someone practices intimacy or when AI interactions become a secret part of a relationship.
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