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AI therapy chatbots on the rise, but are they safe to use?
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Ash, an AI chatbot, is seen on a phone. Ash is part of an increasingly contentious effort to provide automated alternatives to traditional therapy.
PHOTO: KENDRICK BRINSON/NYTIMES
Cade Metz
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UNITED STATES – After having suicidal thoughts in 2025, Ms Brittany Bucicchia checked herself into a mental health facility near her home in rural Georgia.
When she left several days later, her doctors recommended that she continue treatment with a psychotherapist. But she was wary of traditional therapy after frustrating experiences in the past, so her husband suggested an alternative he found online – a therapy chatbot, Ash, powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
