FT questions why people turn to chatbots for personal advice

The Financial Times published an essay by Enuma Okoro about the growing practice of asking chatbots for help with personal and relationship problems. Okoro describes trying a chatbot herself and finding the advice superficially sensible but unsettling because of how quickly the interaction could become emotionally compelling. The piece connects chatbot companionship to broader loneliness and argues that human conversation, friendship, and reflective solitude provide forms of support that machines cannot replace. It is not a product launch, but it is a useful reader-facing pushback item because consumer AI is increasingly being used as a personal confidant rather than just a work assistant.

Key details: Published June 20, 2026 at 04:00 UTC, The essay discusses people using chatbots for personal relationship advice, The author warns that helpful-seeming chatbot exchanges can create dependence, The piece frames chatbot advice as part of a wider loneliness and human-connection problem.

Why it matters: As chatbots move into emotional and relationship advice, the risk is not only wrong answers but quietly replacing human support with a system optimized to keep talking.