How Do Artificially Intelligent Companions Influence Psychological Outcomes?

Study at a glance

From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 5 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.

Official title

An Eight-Month Experimental Study of AI Companionship and Its Effects on Well-Being, Social Life, and Interpersonal Attitudes and Behaviors

ClinicalTrials.gov ID

NCT07858279

Acronym / sponsor ID

HUM00292543

Conditions

AI Companionship

Keywords

artificial intelligence, AI chatbot, human-AI interaction, psychological well-being, social connection, loneliness, social interaction

Study type

Interventional

Recruitment status

Not yet recruiting

Enrolment

1,200 participants (estimated)

Lead sponsor

University of MichiganUniversity, hospital or other

Collaborators

Yale University

Study start

1 Aug 2027 (estimated)

Primary completion

1 Sep 2028 (estimated)

Study completion

1 Sep 2028 (estimated)

First posted

5 Oct 2026 (actual)

Results

Not posted in the source record

Clinical summary

The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.

Study design

Primary purpose

Basic science

Allocation

Randomised

Intervention model

Parallel groups

Masking

None (open label)

Number of arms

2

Who may qualify

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

All

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

Age groups

Adult, Older adult

Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Interventions

Primary outcome

1. Loneliness

   Time frame: Baseline and weekly through Week 10

   Loneliness will be assessed using the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, adapted to refer to the last week. Participants rate how often they felt they lacked companionship, felt left out, and felt isolated from others on a scale from 1 (hardly ever) to 3 (often). Higher scores indicate greater loneliness.

2. General Anxiety

   Time frame: Baseline and weekly through Week 10

   General anxiety will be assessed using the 2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-2), adapted to refer to the last week. Participants rate how often they felt nervous, anxious, or on edge and were unable to stop or control worrying from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). Higher scores indicate greater anxiety.

3. Depression

   Time frame: Baseline and weekly through Week 10

   Depression will be assessed using the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), adapted to refer to the last week. Participants rate how often they experienced little interest or pleasure in doing things and felt down, depressed, or hopeless from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). Higher scores indicate greater depressive symptoms.

4. Quantity of In-Person Interactions

   Time frame: Baseline and weekly through Week 10

   Quantity of in-person social interaction will be assessed using three face-valid items developed for this study. Items assess the frequency of getting together with friends or family in person during the last week, the number of different people spoken to in person on a typical day, and overall in-person social activity during the last week. Higher responses indicate greater quantity of in-person social interaction.

5. Quality of In-Person Interactions

   Time frame: Baseline and weekly through Week 10

   Quality of in-person social interactions will be assessed using three items from the UBC State Social Connection Scale, adapted to refer to in-person interactions during the last week. Participants rate the extent to which they felt close to people, felt a sense of belonging, and felt a strong bond with others from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate greater quality of in-person social interactions.

6. Aggression

   Time frame: Baseline and every 2 weeks through Week 10

   Aggression will be assessed using an adapted 12-item Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire Short Form. Participants rate statements about their thoughts and behaviors over the past two weeks from 1 (extremely uncharacteristic of me) to 6 (extremely characteristic of me). Items are summed to create a composite score, with higher scores indicating greater aggression.

7. Narcissism

   Time frame: Baseline and every 2 weeks through Week 10

   Narcissism will be assessed using the 8-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory Short Form. For each item, participants choose between paired statements, with the less narcissistic response scored 1 and the more narcissistic response scored 2. Items are summed to create a composite score, with higher scores indicating greater narcissism.

8. Traditional Gender Norm Beliefs

   Time frame: Baseline and every 2 weeks through Week 10

   Traditional gender norm beliefs will be assessed using the 9-item G-NORM Scale Injunctive Norm Subscale. Participants rate statements concerning traditional gender roles from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items are summed to create a composite score, with higher scores indicating greater traditional gender norm beliefs.

Results and safety

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

Research links

• Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 5 Oct 2026.
• Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. De-identified individual participant-level survey data collected during the study will be made publicly available. Direct identifiers will be removed prior to sharing. AI companion conversation transcript data will not be made publicly available

Referral and contact

AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.

1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.