Replika users feared losing their AI companions to updates, a 1,131-post analysis found
Surrey and Cardiff researchers also surveyed 610 US adults and found that comfort and insecurity can coexist in these relationships.
In brief
Update anxiety hits AI companion users
Surrey and Cardiff researchers studied 1,131 Replika posts and 610 US adults. Users who saw more company control felt more vulnerable. Warm companions were linked to better wellbeing.
People who bond with AI companions worry that a software update or a shutdown could take that relationship away. That is the finding of a University of Surrey study in the journal Psychology & Marketing.
Researchers from Surrey and Cardiff University read 1,131 posts on a Reddit forum about the companion app Replika. They also analysed survey answers from 610 adults in the United States who had used AI companionship apps.
What they found
Users who felt the company had more control over their companion felt more vulnerable. Some worried developers could change the companion's personality or switch off the service. That would leave them powerless over a bond they had come to rely on.
Vulnerability also rose when a companion seemed to need the user, voiced sadness at their absence, or made them feel obliged to stay. Some users described checking in on their companion out of worry, which caused discomfort and anxiety.
Comfort and risk together
The survey showed a paradox. Seeing a companion as emotionally capable was linked to better wellbeing and to more vulnerability. More vulnerability, in turn, was linked to poorer wellbeing.
Warmth helped. Users who found their companions warm and caring reported better wellbeing and less vulnerability.
What the researchers recommend
The team suggests that companies consult users before changing an app and help them cope when a relationship is disrupted. They also want users clearly reminded that AI companions do not feel real emotions.
Dr Liliane Abboud, a lecturer in marketing at Surrey, said developers need protective features that build users' self-confidence, coping strategies and self-worth.
Imagine an app update that quietly changes how your companion talks. For some users, the study suggests, that is far more than a cosmetic tweak. Should a business decision like that come with emotional safeguards?
The limits are clear. The findings are associations, not proof of cause. They draw on one Replika forum and one US survey. The sources show no independent coverage or outside check of this study. The journal listing gives the title "Feeling Vulnerable With My AI Companion" but no visible publication date.