Looking for love and support in digital places: examining artificial intelligence emotional companion tool use

Purpose Emotional companion chatbots powered by artificial intelligence are gaining in popularity for their ability to allow individuals to share their feelings and personal challenges, and to provide empathy, support, coaching and validation. This paper aims to apply unconditional positive regard theory to examine the conditions under which individuals are likely to use, connect with and assign anthropomorphic attributes to AI emotional companion tools. In addition, the role that an individual’s emotion management tendencies play in influencing AI emotional companion tool use is explored. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments were conducted to examine the dynamics of AI emotional support tool use. Participants were presented with contextualized scenarios and actual output from AI emotional companion tools to examine consumer perceptions and use of intentions. Findings Study 1 examines how self-image orientations (incongruency versus congruency) influence behavior. Results from Study 1 indicate that individuals who exhibit incongruency regarding their self-image express greater use intentions, anthropomorphic tendencies, and form stronger connections with AI emotional companion tools. Study 2 explores how self-image orientations influence the type of emotional companion tool (validation versus coaching) individuals use. Findings reveal that individuals who exhibit incongruency express greater use intentions and anthropomorphic tendencies toward AI emotional companion tools that offer validation. Finally, Study 3 investigates how expressive suppression moderates the relationship between self-image orientations and preferences for AI companion tools that offer validation versus coaching. Results confirm that individuals who enlist expressive suppression as an emotion regulation strategy but do not experience deficits in self-image orientation exhibit greater use intentions for companion tools that offer coaching. Originality/value AI emotional chatbots are revolutionizing the way humans interact with technology. Consumers can share their thoughts and challenges with machines that offer empathetic, supportive feedback. This research offers implications for the growing use of AI-powered emotional companion tools as well as the legal and ethical considerations surrounding them.