We Compared AI to Real Therapists. The Results Are Wild.

Comfort Without a Heart: Why Even Psychologists Fall for AI 🤖💔

Are machines becoming better listeners? A 2025 study investigated in a scientific blind test how well Artificial Intelligence can give therapeutic advice compared to real experts. The AI used was based on the GPT-4 language model. The result is absolutely mind-blowing!

Key Facts from the Experiment:

AI Wins on Emotions: The AI's responses were rated significantly more empathetic than those of real therapists, especially regarding emotional and motivational empathy.

Equal Quality: In terms of scientific quality and cognitive empathy, the AI and the experts were completely on par.

Flying Blind: The participating psychologists could not reliably distinguish whether a text was written by the AI or a human colleague.

The Illusion (Bias): When test subjects believed a text came from an expert, they preferred it over 93 percent of the time—regardless of whether it was actually written by a human.

Important Limitations: Despite the excitement, science puts the results into perspective:

Not Real Therapy: The AI merely answered one-off advice column letters. This cannot replace real psychotherapy, as it lacks the foundation of a genuine therapeutic relationship and human trust.

Risk of Loneliness: Those who get too used to an always-agreeing AI might struggle with human conflicts in real life. A longitudinal study suggests that excessive use of AI for social companionship can actually make people lonelier in the long run.

Data Privacy: Currently, highly intimate problems are often processed on the servers of large tech companies, which poses a clear privacy risk.

Despite these limitations, the development is rapid: Around 22.2% of 18- to 21-year-olds in the US already turn to AI for emotional distress. Furthermore, initial studies show that special AI therapy bots are already showing success in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety.

📚 Sources:

Main Study (Blind Test AI vs. Experts): Föyen, L. F. et al. (2025). Artificial intelligence vs. human expert... Internet Interventions, 41.

Therapy Chatbot (Therabot Study): Heinz, M.V. et al. (2025). Evaluating therabot: a randomized control trial... NEJM AI.

Longitudinal Study (AI & Loneliness): Folk, D., & Dunn, E. How does turning to AI for companionship predict loneliness and vice versa? (Preprint).

Usage Frequency Survey: McBain, R.K. et al. (2025). Use of Generative AI for Mental Health Advice Among US Adolescents and Young Adults. JAMA Network Open.

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