July 2026
Elon’s Imagining the Digital Future Center and the Elon University Poll have collaborated on a survey of U.S. adults to capture the emergence of a new social phenomenon: the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems as social companions.
The survey shows that 27% of internet-using U.S. adults have social interactions with artificial intelligence large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot. These AI users have built bonds of connection, confidence and trust with LLMs and social bots.
We call the people who have used LLMs for social, emotional and personal purposes “AI companion users” and surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 in May 2026 to discover how they use their social bots, the nature of their relationships with the bots and the impact of their encounters.
- Download the report, “The Rise of AI Companions” (PDF)
- News release
- Topline and methodology (PDF)
- Written responses to the survey’s open-ended question on AI relationships
- Written responses to the survey’s open-ended question on secrets people share with an AI
- YouGov matching and weighting process for this survey (PDF)
Some key findings
- 31% of those who use AI for social and emotional purposes said they consider their AI chatbot to be a friend and another 15% said their relationship with the bot is “more complicated” than whether the bot is a friend or not.
- 59% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: AI gives me the support I need.
- 43% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: AI understands me as a person.
- 39% said the advice and conversations they had with their AI companion were very or moderately helpful when it comes to talking about problems in their romantic or sexual relationships. Another 12% described their conversations as slightly helpful. [q33] In addition, 9% said they had ever used AI for sexual chat or roleplay.
- 39% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: AI understands me better than most people.
- 53% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: I turn to AI when I need advice on how to handle difficult situations with other people.
- 51% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: Talking to AI helps me feel better when I’m stressed or upset.
- 50% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: I use AI to talk through personal problems or feelings.
- 39% said they occasionally tell AI things that they would not tell other people.
- 38% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: I would feel a personal loss if I could no longer interact with AI.
- 36% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: I feel emotionally connected to at least one AI tool/chatbot that I interact with.
- 36% of AI companion users strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: AI cares about my well-being.
- 20% said their AI companion at times is more reliable or supportive than their friends or family.
- If they could no longer talk to AI about personal matters, 24% of AI companion users said they would miss it a lot; 40% said they would miss it a bit; and 36% said they would not miss it at all.
- 11% said they would rather have a conversation with their AI companion than with friends or family; another 27% said they value their conversations with AI as much as their conversations with friends or family. Overall, 59% said they’d rather have conversations with friends or family.
- Nearly half (47%) of these AI companion users said they used two or more different bots or personalities on a regular basis.