Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Chatbots in Mental Health: A Systematic Review

Mental health disorders remain a critical global health concern, significantly contributing to disease burden and economic impact. Conventional therapeutic systems often fail to meet the rising demand for timely and accessible mental healthcare. This paper presents a systematic review of Artificial Intelligence-enabled chatbots in mental health, highlighting their potential to enhance support delivery. By integrating Natural Language Processing (NLP), sentiment analysis, and emotion recognition, these systems provide scalable, real-time, and stigma-free assistance. The study analyses chatbot architectures, underlying technologies, functionalities, benefits, and ethical considerations. Findings indicate that AI-driven chatbots improve accessibility, enable early intervention, and support continuous care. However, they are best utilized as complementary tools alongside professional mental health services.