The Dual Impact of AI Emotional Intelligence on Users: Are Social Chatbots Promoting Psychological Wellbeing or Deteriorating Social Wellbeing?

ABSTRACT While earlier studies have examined how AI social chatbots provide emotional support or alleviate loneliness, their direct implications on user wellbeing remain underexplored. Drawing on the theory of emotional intelligence, this research investigates the dual impact of emotionally intelligent (EI) social chatbots on users' wellbeing, enhancing psychological wellbeing while potentially deteriorating social wellbeing (i.e., real‐world human‐to‐human connection). Using a mixed‐method design, first, we conducted a netnographic analysis of user‐generated data from Reddit, YouTube, and Trustpilot to identify how users experience emotional intelligence within chatbot interactions. Building on these insights, two experimental studies ( N = 167; N = 350) confirm that high‐EI chatbots positively influence users' psychological wellbeing but simultaneously decrease their social wellbeing. Furthermore, the study found that perceived closeness mediates both the relationships and the chatbot interaction mode (text vs. augmented reality), and also moderates these mediating effects. These findings highlight a wellbeing trade‐off growing in chatbots and offer implications for the ethical design of AI companions that maximize emotional benefits without compromising users' real‐world connections.