Each year, one in five Americans will experience some form of mental health illness, yet many do not seek therapy due to cost or stigma. In response, AI chatbots have emerged as alternatives.

San Francisco-based psychologist Emily Anhalt has witnessed the effects of the country’s mental health crisis.

“The rates of things like anxiety and depression and burnout have skyrocketed. There are not enough trained and licensed therapists out there to meet all of the people who want to get support. It doesn't surprise me that all these mental health apps are popping up,” Anhalt said.

Anhalt refers to a new breed of wellness apps, including Woebot, Replika, and EarKick, that offer support through AI chatbots. These treatments range from cognitive behavioral exercises to companion bots that engage users, all for a fraction of the cost of seeing an actual therapist.

“We just wanna make sure that we're not doing it in a way that actually causes more harm than good,” she added.

Jodi Halpern, a leading expert and bioethics professor at UC Berkeley, expressed concern about the lack of oversight in the development of these apps. Last year, the co-founder of Koko revealed the platform provided AI responses to thousands of users who thought they were speaking with a human.

“It's not that I'm against in any way AI developing, but I think we need to think about regulation and doing it safely,” Halpern said.

Halpern is advocating for the regulation of chatbot apps offering mental health services by the FDA. She is concerned about the limitations of AI “therapy.”

“If you say that you have any suicidal thoughts or feelings, the bots just say. ‘I can't help you with that. Dial 911,’” she explained.

Headlines were made last year when a man in Belgium using the app Chai committed suicide after being encouraged to do so by a rogue bot.

“I have a lot of concerns about this wave of AI therapy,” Halpern said. “Technology is a good thing, but everything needs to be used in a way that cares about people. I think we need more enlightened uses.”

Most AI therapy chatbots offer a free version and a subscription model that costs approximately $100 or less per year. In contrast, a single in-person session with a licensed therapist can range from $100 to $200.