OpenAI collaborated with 170+ mental health experts to improve ChatGPT’s ability to recognize distress, respond empathetically, and guide users toward real-world support—reducing unsafe responses by up to 80%. Learn how we’re making ChatGPT safer and more supportive in sensitive moments.
arXiv:2604.25415v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: People increasingly turn to general-purpose AI chatbots for advice about emotional and mental health problems, but the ability of these syste...
arXiv:2607. 22692v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used for emotional support despite lacking mechanisms to safely govern evolving mental health risk.
The study evaluates PAIR, a theory-based emotion‑regulation companion, over 14 days with 19 participants, analyzing 1,093 sessions. Emotion estimates from the agent aligned better with participants’ self‑reported valence and dominance than arousal, and guided conversations led to higher valence and state‑dependent arousal changes. Participants reported feeling understood, and the perceived helpfulness of guided conversations increased over time, highlighting the role of memory updates and cross‑session personalization in sustained emotional support.
arXiv:2608. 07902v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Youth increasingly turn to AI chatbots for social and emotional support, raising concerns about how these systems respond, especially in high-stakes situations.
This scoping review examined 48 studies on generative AI chatbots designed to deliver motivational interviewing (MI). It found that most systems were text‑based and disembodied, with about half incorporating dynamic adaptation, and that safety reporting was inconsistent. While user perceptions were generally positive and many studies reported MI‑consistent interactions, evidence for sustained behavioral or functional change remains limited.
The paper evaluates the safety of conversational AI therapy bots for Generation Alpha, revealing that while these models understand 76‑82% of youth‑specific vocabulary, they correctly assess clinical risk only 64‑72% of the time, creating a significant vocabulary‑comprehension gap. Six failure patterns—such as sarcasm masking, minimization acceptance, and semantic drift—were identified, with compounded errors leading to a 94% miss rate when three or more patterns co‑occur. The authors estimate 146,880 missed crises annually and recommend mandatory human‑in‑the‑loop systems, quarterly youth‑specific validation, transparent performance disclosure, and regulatory oversight for youth‑facing mental health AI.
arXiv:2607. 05685v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Large language models are increasingly used as private, always-available conversational systems, but little is known about how people with depressive symptoms use them.
arXiv:2409.02244v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly being used as ad hoc therapists. While prior research has found that LLMs outperform human coun...
arXiv:2607. 08625v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Consumer-facing health chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used for symptom assessment.
Emotional dialogue research includes two influential strategy traditions. Empathetic dialogue prioritizes understanding a speaker's emotional experience.
arXiv:2609.15855v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: % !TEX root = ../main.tex People increasingly use large language models (LLMs) for mental health support, yet their safety in evolving, high-risk con...