AI is an incredible tool. But what happens when people start using it as a virtual relationship?
Sara Smith Atwood explores this question in "AI Boyfriend: The Dangers of AI Relationships". The article was published earlier this week in the Summer 2026 issue of Y Magazine and focuses on commentary from professors at Brigham Young University. Atwood's analysis also includes insights from Jason Carroll, Family Initiative Director, and Brian Willoughby, Family Fellow, from Wheatley Institute.
"While the idea of wearable AI friends, chatbot “boyfriends,” and “affairs” with digital avatars is disturbing, BYU experts say AI can be used to enhance human connections in some circumstances—at least when users focus on AI as a tool, not a friend," Atwood explains. Increasing connection in nursing home use and improving therapist intake tools are just two examples of how this could potentially play out.
However, many individuals are beginning to ignore the distinction between tool and friend that Atwood makes. Researchers are currently exploring the trends behind the rising number of young adults who report having experimented with AI romance. In 2024, "about 20 to 30 percent report[ed] romantic experiences with AI". That number has only increased. Wheatley Fellow Brian Willoughby explains that more recent data shows that “somewhere between 30 and even up to 60 percent of young adults are now at least experimenting with some sort of AI chatbot companion...”. Willoughby has analyzed these trends for several years, examining why individuals turn to AI romance and how its usage varies by gender and age. “People recognize that it’s hollow, and people struggling with depression will feel bad. . . Real relationships might feel even more out of reach,” he says.
He and Jason Carroll were two of several co-authors on a 2025 Wheatley research report called Counterfeit Connections that examined the emergence of this trend in greater depth. A follow-up report is currently in the works. “There is a sense that AI companions are solely the domain of people who are not in existing relationships,” Carroll says, “and as our new report shows, that’s not the case.”