47% of respondents with severe distress sought support from AI — Jerusalem Post

In Israel, researchers found that 47% of surveyed participants with severe psychological distress had turned to generative artificial intelligence at least once for emotional support, advice on overcoming difficulties, or mental health-related assistance. The Jerusalem Post reported on the study’s findings.

584 generative AI users were surveyed

The study was conducted by Tel-Hai College psychologist Dorit Hadar Shoval and Elad Refua of Bar-Ilan University. They surveyed 584 Israelis aged 18 to 70 who had used general-purpose generative AI systems, including ChatGPT or Gemini, at least once over the previous year.

Overall, 29.3% of respondents said they had used AI at least once for emotional support, advice on coping with difficult situations, or mental health-related assistance. Among the 66 participants with a severe level of psychological distress, 47% reported such experience.

Participants were recruited through an online panel in November 2025. The authors stressed that the results reflect responses from this specific sample of AI users and are not representative of Israel’s entire population.

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Younger participants and women sought help more often

According to the researchers’ conclusions, psychological distress was the factor most closely associated with turning to AI for support. Younger participants and women more often reported using such tools for mental health-related needs than older people and men.

A higher level of anxious attachment was also associated with turning to AI for psychological help. However, after accounting for the level of psychological distress, this association was no longer statistically significant. The study does not answer whether distress prompts people to use AI more often or whether emotional reliance on such systems may affect well-being.

The effectiveness and safety of interactions still need to be studied

The authors did not assess whether conversations with AI helped participants cope with their condition, whether they delayed seeking professional help as a result, or whether such interactions could worsen distress. The researchers noted that consumer AI systems are not intended for clinical use and lack recognized mechanisms for responding to psychological crises.

The study, titled AI-mediated mental health support: The role of attachment orientation and psychological distress, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.