Artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to advance by leaps and bounds. Many of your gadgets and apps already use AI in one form or another, and many more will be adopting it soon. And while AI is nowhere near the dreams of science fiction writers yet, it is already being used in astonishing ways.
You can test this amazing AI technology on your Android phone as well. If you’re experiencing stress or feeling overwhelmed like so many people, try talking to an AI-based chatbot therapist on your phone. These apps come in handy, especially if you hesitate to discuss your problems with people around you. Let’s look at some of the prominent AI chatbot therapists available on Android and iOS.
1. Wysa
Wysa is a pretty thorough app that acts as your mental wellness partner. It offers a chatbot therapist, lots of exercises to improve mental health, and even an option to talk through voice messages. Your conversations with Wysa are confidential to protect your privacy. You just have to give it a nickname to start chatting.
Wysa is programmed in a way that asks you questions to help you open up about your problems. This virtual AI companion-cum-therapist is quite interactive with a realistic feel. In addition, it saves your therapy sessions in a journal so you can monitor your health.
There are many exercises to choose from depending on what you are dealing with. Only some of these exercises are free. The rest requires payment. You also get an SOS function in case you end up in an emergency. This feature is designed to help you stay calm and avoid panic. When it comes to emergencies, check out how your smartphone can always make emergency calls.
Wysa offers all the basic features of self-care therapy, including some exercises, for free. However, the free version has certain limitations that require a premium subscription to unlock. Also, you can talk to real therapists if you pay for the sessions.
Download: Wysa for Android | iOS (free, subscription available)
2. Woebot
Woebot allows you to choose a time to add scheduled therapy sessions for each day. It has a feature that allows you to choose the common answers in the chat instead of typing the answer every time. This helps to make communication more efficient.
It also offers targeted chat sessions to work on a specific issue. You can select your problem from Subjects the tab. These sessions include interactive quizzes, tests and games to help you overcome a challenge in a lighthearted way. In addition, the app provides an SOS function in case of emergency. And you can keep a journal with Woebot to track your progress. The best part: the app is completely free for everyone.
Download: Woebot for Android | iOS (free)
3. Limbic
Limbic is a minimalist AI chatbot therapist that takes you straight to your therapy session without any distractions. You don’t even need to register or log in to use the app. It allows you to record daily therapy sessions to keep a record of your mental health and track your progress. It provides insights based on the information you’ve shared and keeps all your notes saved for analysis and viewing later.
Limbic also recommends actions and tools based on your feelings and mood. The daily therapy sessions make it possible to discover your health patterns and optimize the therapy based on your situation.
It also offers emergency SOS services like other apps on this list that help you contact relevant authorities in case of a medical emergency.
Limbic is completely free and you don’t need a subscription to access its features. If you need help with anything, you can easily connect to the app’s technical support.
Download: Limbic for Android | iOS (free)
4. RiseUp
RiseUp is a feature-packed chatbot therapist that helps you overcome anxiety, feel confident and achieve your goals. You start by telling it your current feeling and then seek therapy according to your situation.
The chatbot contains precise questions that are designed based on human responses to different emotions. In addition, it also allows you to take a personality test that helps you learn about your personality and gain insight into your passion and goals.
The app also maintains a record of your daily therapy sessions and moods during Disclose section. This helps you track your overall mental health progress. It also has several other resources, such as tests to understand depression and anxiety. These tests can prove useful in identifying the causes of your feelings and helping you towards an early diagnosis. Most of the app’s features are available for free, but some are locked behind in-app purchases.
Download: RiseUp for Android | iOS (free, in-app purchases available)
5. Mind spa
Mindspa is mostly a content-based app with articles, courses and exercises to improve your mental health. The app also allows you to keep a mental health diary. In addition, it has a chatbot therapist hidden in the settings. To access the chatbot, tap More in the lower right corner and then press Emergency. This will take you to a chat screen with an AI bot at the other end.
You have a conversation with the Mindspa chatbot mostly by choosing an answer from a list. You rarely need to enter the answers manually. The more you talk to it, the better it starts to understand your problem and offer useful help. Most of the features this app offers are free. However, you need in-app purchases to access some of the advanced features.
Download: Mindspa for Android | iOS (free, in-app purchases available)
Should you rely entirely on AI-based apps?
No, you shouldn’t use AI as your only mental health resource. These apps are not an alternative to real therapists and treatment. However, you can use these apps to complement your current treatment and simply enjoy the convenient companionship of an AI friend.
The performance of these chatbots is impressive, but far from perfect. That said, you’ll still appreciate how far AI technology has come. You may find some of the suggestions and guidance too simple, but there are some points where these apps really share something new to improve your mental health.
