Several challenges, including the potential for chatbot addiction and the limitations of AI-powered chatbots in providing emotional support

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and stated research gap and stated challenges of the source papers, classified as general, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 4 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Chatbot psychosis: moving beyond recognition to mechanistic understanding and harm reduction (2026) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · cited 4× · doi

  There is an urgent need for the scientific community and mental health professionals to engage with self-reported cases and conduct careful clinical evaluation of individual’s mental health alongside their chatbot interactions and associated delusions and behaviours.1 There is also a need for well-conducted experimental and observational studies, designed with input from individuals with lived experience of chatbot psychosis, to systematically document the impact of specific artificial intelligence characteristics and patterns of use in individuals with and without a predisposition to psychosis, including those with a known history of psychotic disorders. We require interdisciplinary frameworks integrating psychology, psychiatry, computer science, ethics and public health to make meaningful progress, specifically in advancing our mechanistic understanding of chatbot psychosis and in defining appropriate psychoeducation along with ethical standards, policy and clinical practice that need to be put in place to reduce harm, or at least prevent the problem from getting any worse, at both individual and population levels. , Department of Psychology, College of Health, Medicine and Life

  generalfuture work
  Keywords: health need chatbot psychosis there mental clinical individual individuals psychology urgent scientific community professionals engage
• Health Care Professionals’ Perspectives on Conversational Mental Health Chatbots: Protocol for a Systematic Review (2026) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi

  Relatively little research has focused on health care professionals' perspectives on conversational mental health chatbots. The perspectives of health care professionals are crucial as they may point to underexplored implications related to the safety, ethical use, and implementation of these tools. The review aims to address the gap in research by focusing specifically on health care professionals' perspectives on the use of conversational mental health chatbots.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: relatively little research has focused health care professionals
• A pilot study of human–AI conversational interaction and its impact on loneliness and wellbeing (2026) · Frontiers in Digital Health · doi

  The study identifies several challenges, including the potential for chatbot addiction and the limitations of AI-powered chatbots in providing emotional support. The study also notes the challenge of ensuring the generalizability of the findings, given the small sample size and the specific population studied. The study highlights the need for further research to address these challenges and to develop more effective AI-powered mental health support systems.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: study identifies several challenges including potential chatbot addiction

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