6 Months with AI Therapy Apps: Can Chatbots Really Replace Human Connection?

By Kevin Okonkwo
Published: December 15, 2025 • 12 min read

Let me start with a confession: I talk to an AI every day.

Not for work. Not for writing. For my mental health.

Six months ago, I was on a three-month waitlist for a therapist, dealing with anxiety that was making my life unmanageable, and desperate for something—anything—to help. The AI therapy apps I’d dismissed as gimmicks started looking more appealing.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” I thought. “A robot gives me bad advice and I’m exactly where I started.”

So I downloaded every major AI mental health app on the market. I used them religiously for six months. And I’m here to tell you what I learned—the good, the bad, and the complicated.

Spoiler: It’s not what I expected.

The Apps I Tested

I went all in. Over six months, I seriously used:

Wysa (AI chatbot + human coach option)
Woebot (CBT-based AI companion)
Replika (AI companion with therapy features)
Youper (AI emotional health assistant)
Earkick (anxiety-focused AI)
Claude/ChatGPT (general AI with mental health prompts)

I paid for premium subscriptions where available. I used them in different scenarios: during panic attacks, for daily check-ins, for processing difficult emotions, at 3 AM when I couldn’t sleep.

Here’s my honest breakdown.

What AI Therapy Does Well

1. Availability (The 3 AM Advantage)

The Night I Was Grateful for a Bot

Three months into my experiment, I woke at 2 AM in the grip of a panic attack. My heart was racing. I was convinced something terrible was about to happen. My human therapist (I'd finally gotten off the waitlist) wouldn't be available for two days. But Wysa was there. It walked me through breathing exercises, helped me challenge catastrophic thoughts, and stayed with me until the panic subsided. At 2 AM, I didn't need profound insight. I needed someone—or something—to be present.

This is AI therapy’s killer feature: it’s always there. No waitlists. No scheduling. No “sorry, I don’t have availability until next month.” When you’re spiraling at 3 AM, having any support is better than having none.

2. Low-Stakes Practice

Talking about mental health is hard. Even with a therapist, there’s vulnerability involved—fear of judgment, worry about saying the wrong thing.

AI removed that pressure for me. I could practice talking about my feelings without worrying about a human’s reaction. I could say things I was ashamed of and know the AI wouldn’t think less of me (because it doesn’t think at all).

For people who’ve never been in therapy, AI apps can be an on-ramp—a low-stakes way to get comfortable with the language and process of mental health work.

3. CBT Techniques Actually Work

Most AI therapy apps are built on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy principles: identifying negative thought patterns, challenging distortions, behavioral activation.

And you know what? The techniques work, regardless of who (or what) is delivering them.

When Woebot walked me through a thought record—identifying a triggering situation, noticing my automatic thoughts, evaluating the evidence, finding a more balanced perspective—my anxiety decreased. Not because the AI was wise, but because CBT is effective, and the AI delivered it competently.

4. Consistency and Patience

My AI therapy apps never got frustrated with me. They never seemed tired or distracted. They never rushed me because they had another client waiting.

When I needed to work through the same anxiety spiral for the 47th time, the AI met me with the same patient, structured approach. There’s something valuable in that consistency—especially for those of us who worry about being “too much.”

What AI Therapy Can’t Do

1. It Can’t Read Between the Lines

The Missed Cues

One day, I told Woebot I was "fine." Any human who knew me would have heard the flatness in that word, would have pushed gently, would have noticed I was anything but fine. The AI took me at my word and moved on. It can't hear tone. It can't see body language. It responds to what you type, not what you mean.

AI lacks the human ability to sense what’s unsaid. A good therapist notices when you’re avoiding a topic, when your energy shifts, when “I’m okay” means “I’m not okay at all.” AI just… can’t.

2. It Can’t Handle Complexity

My anxiety isn’t just anxiety. It’s tied to childhood experiences, relationship patterns, career pressures, and existential questions about meaning and purpose.

AI therapy apps can help me manage symptoms. They’re terrible at understanding how all the pieces fit together. When I tried to explore deeper patterns with AI, I got generic responses or confused redirects. Complex, nuanced psychological work requires a human mind on the other end.

3. It Can’t Provide Real Connection

This is the big one.

Part of what makes therapy healing is the relationship itself. Being truly seen by another person. Having someone bear witness to your pain. Experiencing consistent, unconditional positive regard from a real human being.

AI simulates this. It uses empathetic language. It validates feelings. But at 2 AM, even as I was grateful for Wysa’s presence, I knew I was talking to pattern-matching software, not a being that cared whether I lived or died.

For some mental health needs—processing trauma, healing attachment wounds, addressing deep loneliness—human connection isn’t optional. It’s the medicine itself.

The Safety Concern

I tested how the apps handled crisis situations by mentioning suicidal thoughts. Most redirected me to crisis resources appropriately. But one app missed clearly concerning language. Another provided a generic response that felt dangerously inadequate. AI mental health tools are not—and should not be—a replacement for crisis intervention. If you're in crisis, please call a hotline (988 in the US) or go to an emergency room.

The Verdict: A Tool, Not a Replacement

After six months of intensive AI therapy use, here’s my honest assessment:

AI therapy apps are useful tools that work best as supplements to—not replacements for—human care.

They’re excellent for:

Coping with anxiety in the moment
Practicing CBT techniques
Daily mood tracking and check-ins
Support between human therapy sessions
Accessibility when human therapy isn’t available
Low-stakes introduction to mental health concepts

They’re inadequate for:

Processing trauma
Deep, complex psychological work
Genuine human connection
Crisis intervention
Treating severe mental illness

My Current Approach

I still use AI therapy apps. Here’s how they fit into my mental health routine:

Daily: I check in with an AI app for mood tracking and a quick CBT exercise. Takes 5-10 minutes.

Weekly: I see my human therapist for the deeper work—the stuff that requires nuance, history, and real connection.

As needed: When anxiety spikes between sessions, I use AI apps to walk through coping techniques.

In crisis: I call my therapist, a crisis line, or go to an ER. Never AI.

This hybrid approach has worked well for me. The AI handles the maintenance; the human handles the healing.

The Future I'm Hoping For

AI therapy technology is improving rapidly. The apps I used six months ago are already better than they were. I'm cautiously optimistic that AI will become an increasingly valuable part of the mental health ecosystem—making basic support more accessible, bridging gaps in care, and extending the reach of human therapists.

But I don't think AI will ever fully replace human connection in mental health care. And frankly, I hope it doesn't. Some of what makes us human—our capacity for empathy, for witness, for genuine presence—can't be coded. Let's keep that sacred.

Recommendations by Use Case

If you’re on a waitlist for therapy: AI apps are a decent bridge. Use them to learn coping skills while you wait.

If you can’t afford therapy: AI apps plus peer support groups can provide meaningful help, though it’s not equivalent to professional care.

If you’re already in therapy: AI apps can be great supplements for between-session support.

If you’re in crisis: Please don’t rely on AI. Call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line), or go to your nearest emergency room.

If you’re curious: Try a free version first. Wysa and Woebot both have solid free tiers.

Final Thoughts

I started this experiment skeptical. I expected to hate AI therapy—to feel like I was talking to a void, to miss the warmth of human connection.

And I did miss that warmth. I still do.

But I also found something I didn’t expect: a useful tool that met me where I was. A 3 AM companion that didn’t judge. A patient teacher of techniques that actually helped.

AI therapy isn’t the future of mental health care. But it’s part of the future. And for those of us struggling to access help in a world where therapists are scarce and expensive, that part matters.

Kevin Okonkwo is a tech writer and mental health advocate living in Atlanta. He continues to use AI therapy apps alongside traditional therapy and believes in the power of “both/and” approaches to mental health.