Perceptions of AI-Based Conversational Therapy Versus Human Talk-Based Therapy

The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence has opened its application in the mental health support industry. This study analyses responses of people’s perception on AI being a mental health therapist vs traditional human therapy. A global survey of 203 participants was done to gather the necessary data required for the study, the survey asked them questions regarding their age, country, gender their experience with AI therapy and human therapy and their perception of strengths and weaknesses of AI based therapy and also their opinion on Hybrid (AI assisted therapy). Results show that even if AI therapy is cost-effective, accessible anytime, and has the advantage of pattern recognition with its vast knowledge, people still choose human therapy over AI therapy because of empathy, physical presence, and better understanding of real and critical scenarios. Respondents have consistently rated human therapy as superior to AI therapy in almost every sense. In this study, we also observed that acceptance of AI in the mental health industry is higher among younger respondents and female respondents.