Study Summary
Social Chatbots Reduce Loneliness and Social Anxiety.
This mixed-methods study explored how social chatbots can help reduce loneliness and social anxiety among university students.
Over four weeks, 176 participants interacted with an AI chatbot with a lively social persona. The researchers assessed changes in emotional well-being and examined user experiences to better understand how conversational AI can provide social support.
Over four weeks, 176 participants interacted with an AI chatbot with a lively social persona. The researchers assessed changes in emotional well-being and examined user experiences to better understand how conversational AI can provide social support.
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What The Study Found
Participants described the chatbot as empathetic, friendly, and supportive, offering a sense of social presence through listening, encouragement, and availability. Within just a few weeks, they reported lower feelings of loneliness and reduced social anxiety, suggesting that consistent, emotionally attuned interaction with an AI social chatbot can help ease isolation and increase social confidence.
Key Insights
Chatbot Users Felt Less Lonely Within Weeks.
Regular interaction with a social AI chatbot helped students feel more connected and less alone. Within just a few weeks, users reported meaningful emotional relief.
Loneliness and anxiety relief. Users reported lower loneliness by week 2 and reduced social anxiety by week 4, showing that empathic, consistent conversations with a chatbot can foster social comfort and support.
No significant change was found for depression or general anxiety, showing this specific chatbot’s strongest effect on social dimensions of well-being.
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Openness drives the benefit.
Participants described the social chatbot as empathetic, encouraging, and reliably present, offering emotional warmth and a sense of companionship during everyday interactions.
Students who shared more openly with the chatbot experienced greater reductions in loneliness. Higher baseline loneliness combined with lower openness predicted smaller benefits.
This underlines the value of empathic design and conversational consistency in creating AI companions that genuinely help people feel heard and connected.
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Why This Matters
This study demonstrates that social chatbots can reduce loneliness and social anxiety, especially among young adults who lack emotional or social support. By offering accessible, empathic, and stigma-free conversation, chatbots can complement mental-health care, not replace it, and serve as an early intervention tool for those hesitant to seek help.
Nestwarm builds on these findings by creating safe, human-like chats that combine warmth, consistency, and emotional presence — designed to help users feel heard and connected without dependency.
Full Citation:
Kim, M, Lee, Y, Lee, J. Y. (2025). Therapeutic Potential of Social Chatbots in Alleviating Loneliness and Social Anxiety: Quasi-Experimental Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Mental Health (JMIR Publications). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11775481/
Nestwarm builds on these findings by creating safe, human-like chats that combine warmth, consistency, and emotional presence — designed to help users feel heard and connected without dependency.
Full Citation:
Kim, M, Lee, Y, Lee, J. Y. (2025). Therapeutic Potential of Social Chatbots in Alleviating Loneliness and Social Anxiety: Quasi-Experimental Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Mental Health (JMIR Publications). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11775481/
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About Nestwarm
A WhatsApp chat companion built on research showing that small, empathetic conversations can ease loneliness.