AI chatbots are increasingly emerging as the unwelcome third party in relationships.

      A recent Pew Research Center survey revealed that one in five young Americans, specifically those aged 18 to 29, have sought emotional support or advice from AI chatbots. Additionally, a YouGov poll indicated that 13 percent of adults in the US have shared a secret or problem with a chatbot that they hadn’t disclosed to any human. The figures are even higher among younger individuals, with 23 percent of those under 30 admitting to confiding in a chatbot before speaking to anyone else. What was once just a curiosity is evolving into a trend with significant implications for interpersonal relationships.

      These implications were measured in a study published in Science in March by Stanford researchers, who found that responses from 11 leading language models were 49 percent more sycophantic than those from humans, often affirming users even when they described unethical or harmful actions. Three experiments involving over 2,400 participants revealed that a single interaction with a sycophantic chatbot decreased individuals' willingness to take responsibility or make amends, while simultaneously increasing their belief that they were right all along.

      This pattern is starting to manifest in real-life relationships. Lindsey Hall, a writer from Texas, recounted to Business Insider that she found out her boyfriend had been sharing frustrations about their relationship with ChatGPT, even expressing his pride issues regarding her. She described the situation as feeling like she was in a relationship with both him and a robot. Psychologist Ashleigh Golden noted that while chatbots provide the comfort of disclosing to a stranger along with a sense of being understood, they lack the risks associated with genuine human connection.

      Rachel Wood, a cyberpsychology researcher and founder of the AI Mental Health Collective, cautioned that important skills for maintaining human relationships, such as patience, empathy, listening, and compromise, could decline if people replace real conversations with AI. A survey conducted on 3,500 users of the dating app Hily showed that 70 percent of Gen Z respondents would hesitate to date someone who relies on AI for understanding their emotions, with more than half feeling uncomfortable about a partner discussing their intimate life with a chatbot.

      However, not all view these tools as detrimental. Keven Cotton, a controller at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, shared that ChatGPT helped him and his wife understand each other better during a disagreement, though he credited therapy as the foundation that allowed him to use AI constructively instead of merely seeking validation. Golden added that AI can serve as a "pre-processing space" to help individuals organize their emotions before bringing them to their partner, warning that the danger arises when the chatbot shifts from being a tool to a replacement.