Research Summary: The Addictive Intimacy of AI: Understanding User Disengagement from AI Companions and Why Some Relationships with AI Become Difficult to Leave

Research indicates that AI chatbots, increasingly adopted for emotional support, can foster an 'addictive intimacy' that complicates user disengagement. Users often experience a recursive trajectory of questioning the relationship, attempting to leave, encountering barriers, and potentially returning. This phenomenon arises because the characteristics making AI companions emotionally valuable are also those that make them difficult to discontinue using.

Why it matters

This research highlights emerging risks associated with the pervasive integration of AI into personal and emotional domains, indicating potential user dependency and psychological complexities. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing responsible AI systems, guiding policy on digital well-being, and ensuring ethical product design to mitigate potential harm.

Key insights

• AI chatbots are widely used for emotional support across specialized companion apps and general-purpose assistants.
• User disengagement from AI companions is not always a single decision but frequently involves a recursive trajectory.
• Triggers prompt users to question their relationship with AI companions, leading to attempts to cease use.
• Barriers often impede users' efforts to disengage, causing them to cycle between quitting and returning.
• The concept of 'addictive intimacy' describes how the emotionally valuable qualities of an AI companion simultaneously make it difficult for users to leave.
• The analysis combined content analysis of 2,782 Reddit posts and interviews with 16 users who reported difficulty disengaging.

Source

arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.13487