AI chatbots are becoming part of young people’s lives in ways that go far beyond schoolwork, research or productivity.
A new European survey has found that many young people are using AI to discuss personal, intimate and mental health issues, raising important questions about how young people understand and relate to conversational AI.
The research surveyed 3,800 people aged 11–25 across France, Germany, Sweden and Ireland. Around 90% had used AI tools, while more than three in five users described AI as a “life adviser” or “confidant”.
Why are young people opening up to AI?
One reason appears to be accessibility. Chatbots are available at any time and can feel less judgemental than talking to another person.
More than half of those surveyed said they found it easy to discuss mental health and personal issues with a chatbot. Friends and parents remained the preferred sources of support overall, but the findings show just how quickly AI is entering spaces traditionally associated with human relationships and emotional support.
This also creates new risks.
General-purpose AI systems may produce convincing and supportive responses, but they do not understand emotions in the same way as people and are not a replacement for professional mental health support. There are also important questions around privacy and the sensitive personal information young people may share with these systems.
What does this mean for AI education?
For VALUES, these findings highlight why AI literacy needs to extend beyond learning how to generate text, images or complete workplace tasks.
Young people also need to understand what AI systems are, what their limitations are, what happens to the information they share and when human support is more appropriate.
Responsible AI use therefore includes knowing when AI can be useful – and recognising when it should not replace human judgement, relationships or professional expertise.
As conversational AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, helping young people make these distinctions will be an important part of building critical, informed and ethical AI users.
Further reading to original article: AI chatbots being used by young Europeans for emotional support, new survey finds, published by The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/ai-chatbots-emotional-support-mental-health-europe-b2970730.html