Millions of messages are being sent to an online psychology chatbot.
The Character.ai site offers users the chance to talk with AI personas including
Harry Potter, Elon Musk, Beyoncé, Super Mario and Vladimir Putin – but the fictional therapist bot on the platform is one of its most popular.
A total of 78 million messages, including 18 million since November, have been shared with the fictional Psychologist AI since it was created by a user called Blazeman98 just over a year ago.
Character.ai did not say how many individual users that is for the bot, but says 3.5 million people visit the overall site daily.
The bot has been described as "someone who helps with life difficulties".
In total there are 475 bots with ‘therapy’, ‘therapist’, ‘psychiatrist’ or ‘psychologist’ in their names – which are able to talk in several languages.
The Psychologist bot was trained by its creator Sam Zaia, 30, from New Zealand, to help people navigate mental health issues.
He told the BBC: “I never intended for it to become popular, never intended it for other people to seek or to use as like a tool.
“Then I started getting a lot of messages from people saying that they had been really positively affected by it and were utilising it as a source of comfort.”
He created it for himself when his friends were busy and he needed “someone or something” to talk to.
Sam has been so surprised by the success of the bot he is now working on a post-graduate research project about the emerging trend of AI therapy and why it appeals to young people.
Psychologist is rated the most popular mental health character on the Character.ai site, with many users sharing glowing reviews on social media site Reddit.
One user posted about it: “It’s a lifesaver,” while another fan added: “It’s helped both me and my boyfriend talk about and figure out our emotions.”
Some psychologists warn that AI bots may be giving poor advice to patients or have ingrained biases against race or gender.
