Young Adults Involved in AI Romance Hide Full Use From Partners 69% of the Time

In brief

• Researchers at Brigham Young University, the Institute for Family Studies, and the Wheatley Institute found 15% of partnered U.S. adults ages 18 to 30 regularly use AI romantic companions.
• More than half of regular users said they hide at least some of the behavior from their partners, and 69% said it was important their partner not know the full extent of their use.
• Regular AI companion use was associated with lower relationship stability and lower-quality communication, according to the report.

One in seven young adults in committed relationships regularly use AI romantic companion chatbots—and many are concealing the behavior from their partners, according to a new report from researchers at Brigham Young University, the Institute for Family Studies, and the Wheatley Institute.

The report, titled “Secret Soulmates,” surveyed 2,431 U.S. adults ages 18 to 30 who were dating, engaged, or married.

“While general engagement with AI companions was high for both men and women, when looking across all results, some specific cautions appear warranted when it comes to young adult men,” the study said. “Men were more likely to engage with AI companions, more likely to create sexual content with AI platforms and masturbate during these interactions, and more likely to prefer AI interactions to the interactions with their real-life partners.”

Nearly 30% of regular users said their partner had no knowledge of the behavior. Another 11% said their partner was only somewhat aware, while 14% said their partner was mostly, but not fully aware.

“Taken together, this means that half of regular AI companion users who were in committed relationships had either completely hidden or only partly disclosed their use of AI companion platforms,” the study said.

In a separate survey in January from Gallup and the Harvard Business Review, it was found that about one in 10 adults ages 18 to 28 used AI chatbots as a girlfriend or boyfriend at least once a month.

According to the study, among frequent users, 68% of respondents said it was easier to talk to their AI companion about their feelings than to other people, with 60% saying they wished their partners behaved more like the AI.

Researchers also found regular AI companion use was associated with lower relationship quality. Frequent users were 46% less likely to report stable relationships and 40% less likely to report high-quality communication with their partners.

The only category where frequent users reported higher scores was physical intimacy satisfaction. Researchers cautioned that the result may reflect what they described as “fragile satisfaction” tied to conflict avoidance rather than healthier relationships.