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The on-demand availability of artificial intelligence chatbots means that most individuals have quick, easy access to a wealth of information. The ease and accessibility of these tools may make it tempting to turn to AI for advice about mental health. But it's important to note that these systems are prone to reinforcing a user's existing beliefs or, in some cases, providing inaccurate information.

AI chatbots should never be used to diagnose or treat mental health conditions. Instead, AI tools should be used as a supplement to professional care.

Before turning to AI for mental health advice, there are several things to keep in mind. AI can be confidently wrong. A chatbot can produce a compassionate-sounding answer that is inaccurate, incomplete or inappropriate for a particular person. It does not have the clinical judgment of a licensed mental health professional. An AI also cannot truly assess the whole person. A clinician can consider history, behavior, nonverbal cues, medical factors, environment and risk, while a chatbot generally sees only what the user types or otherwise provides.

Children and adolescents may be less likely than adults to recognize that an AI's apparent empathy isn't genuine understanding or to question whether its advice is accurate.

If "advice" is understood as low-stakes support rather than diagnosis or treatment, an AI chatbot can be helpful. Reasonable uses might include:

There are situations in which it's unwise to turn to an AI bot for mental health advice.

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