AI: Let’s face it, most of us use some kind of social media and have friends or connections on those platforms with whom we interact only online. 

But what about digital relationships in which there is no actual person on the other end?

A new survey of more than 3,000 people by AllSafeIT, an IT support provider, reveals the extent of these new digital devotions. 

AI companions, or chatbots, “have become the digital equivalent of that friend who always picks up, never interrupts and occasionally offers surprisingly sage advice.

“Four in 10, the survey revealed, would rather confess a secret to a chatbot than to a priest or therapist. Almost a quarter of respondents said they would miss their favorite chatbot ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a great deal’ if it vanished tomorrow.

“Around one-third admit to telling their AI something they would never tell a partner, parent or best friend. And yet trust has limits. Only 14% said they completely trust a chatbot with personal information, while more than a third flatly said ‘not at all.’”

More than a quarter said they would pay for a “premium friendship” tier, and 26% said their AI bot is more valuable to them than streaming services. 

Thirty percent said a chatbot’s opinion would sting more than a stranger’s, 42% said their bot gives better advice than friends, and 18% admitted their bot understands them better than their partner.

Asked to define their relationship with a chatbot, Pennsylvanians leaned more pragmatic than poetic as 63% said it felt closer to using an app while 37% said it was closer to talking with a friend.

The survey responses show just how much emotional space these tools are occupying.