5 AI Chatbot Mobile Apps That Aim to Put a Therapist in Your Pocket – MUO – MakeUseOf
If you’re feeling down or overwhelmed but don’t think you’re ready to talk to someone, an AI therapist app might be a good place to start.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to make progress by leaps and bounds. Many of your gadgets and apps are already using AI in some form, and many more are going to adopt it soon. And while AI is nowhere near science fiction writers' dreams yet, it is already being applied in astounding ways.
You can test this amazing AI technology on your Android phone as well. If you are facing stress or feeling overwhelmed like so many people, you can 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.
Wysa is a pretty thorough app that works as your mental well-being partner. It offers a chatbot therapist, plenty of mental health improvement exercises, and even an option to talk through voice messages. Your conversations with Wysa are confidential to protect your privacy. You just have to provide it with a nickname to start chatting.
Wysa is programmed in a way that it asks you questions to help you open up about your problems. This virtual AI companion-cum-therapist is quite interactive with a realistic feel to it. In addition, it stores your therapy sessions in a journal so that you can keep a check on your health.
There are plenty of exercises to choose from depending on what you're dealing with. Only some of those exercises are free, though. The rest require payment. You also get an SOS feature in case you find yourself in an emergency. This feature is designed to help you keep calm and avoid panic. On the topic of emergencies, do check out how your smartphone can always make emergency calls.
Wysa provides all the basic self-care therapy features, including some exercises, for free. However, the free version has certain limitations that require a premium subscription to unlock. Moreover, you can talk to real-life therapists if you pay for the sessions.
Download: Wysa for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
Woebot lets you pick a time to add scheduled therapy sessions for each day. It has a feature that allows you to select the common responses in the chat rather than typing the answer each time. This helps make communication more efficient.
It also offers targeted chat sessions to work on a specific issue. You can select your issue from the Topics tab. These sessions include interactive quizzes, tests, and games to help you overcome a challenge in a light-hearted way. In addition, the app provides an SOS feature in case of emergencies. 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)
Limbic is a minimalist AI chatbot therapist that takes you straight to the therapy session without any distractions. You don’t even need to register or sign in to use the app. It lets you record daily therapy sessions to keep a journal of your mental health and track your progress. It provides insights based on the information you 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 enable it to detect your health patterns and optimize therapy based on your situation.
It also provides emergency SOS services like other apps on this list that help you contact the 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 with the app’s technical support.
Download: Limbic for Android | iOS (Free)
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 various feelings. In addition, it also allows you to take a personality test that helps you learn about your personality and get insights into your passion and goals.
The app also maintains a record of your daily therapy sessions and moods under the Reveal section. This helps you track your overall mental health progress. It has several other resources as well, such as tests for understanding depression and anxiety. These tests can prove helpful in identifying the causes of your feelings and helping guide you toward 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)
Mindspa is mostly a content-based app with articles, courses, and tasks on improving your mental health. The app also lets you keep a mental health diary. In addition, it has a chatbot therapist hidden inside its settings. To access the chatbot, tap on More in the bottom-right corner and then tap Emergency. This takes you to a chat screen with an AI bot at the other end.
You have a conversation with the Mindspa chatbot mostly by selecting responses from a list. You rarely have to type your 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 do need in-app purchases to access some of the advanced functionalities.
Download: Mindspa for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
No, you shouldn't use AI as your only mental health resource. These apps are not an alternative to real-life 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. With that being said, you’ll still appreciate how far AI technology has come. You might find some of the suggestions and guidance too simple, but there are some points where these apps really do share something new to improve your mental health.
Ali has been a tech enthusiast since 2005. He is a power user of Android, Linux, and Windows. He has an Advanced Diploma in Business Management from London, UK, and is an English Literature graduate from Punjab University, Pakistan.
