What Is an AI Companion? A Friendly Guide for the Curious

If you've been hearing people mention AI companions and thinking, "Wait, what is that exactly?", you are not alone. This category has grown quickly, with AI companion apps hitting 220 million downloads as of July 2025, according to Appfigures data reported by TechCrunch.

An AI companion is a chatbot built for emotional connection, as opposed to productivity. Productivity apps like ChatGPT and Claude are tools that can help rephrase your emails, write code, or plan an itinerary. An AI companion, on the other hand, remembers that you mentioned a job interview last week and asks how it went. It texts you first sometimes. It builds up an awareness of who you are across hundreds of conversations.

People use them for a variety of reasons, including friends, romantic partners (AI boyfriends or girlfriends), or just a place to think out loud, journal, and reflect.

Who's actually using AI companions?

One of the most surprising things about AI companions is how many different kinds of people enjoy them.

Women make up a growing share of AI companion users, currently around 18-20% and climbing quickly. Nearly a quarter of young adult women have tried one at least once!

And it's not just younger users - New York State runs an official program providing AI companions to seniors through the Office for the Aging, with 95% of participants reporting reduced loneliness.

The common thread? Wanting to feel heard, and liking the idea of someone being there when you want to talk.

The research is better than we expected

We went looking for studies, expecting thin results given the nascency of the category, but found quite the opposite.

A Harvard Business School study in the Journal of Consumer Research found AI companions reduced loneliness at rates comparable to talking to another person. The deciding factor was whether users felt genuinely listened to - feeling heard mattered more than whether the listener was human!

Clinical research in the Journal of Medical Internet Research tracked participants over time, with loneliness dropping by week two and social anxiety improving by week four. A Dartmouth trial in NEJM AI found 51% reduction in depression symptoms and 31% reduction in generalized anxiety.

These aren't miracle cures - they certainly won't replace a good therapist or close friendships. But for something the media commonly dismisses as "talking to a chatbot" or being bad for society, multiple studies have shown the beneficial are real and repeatable.

Why people use AI companions

If you are wondering what people actually do with AI companions, the answer is usually simple: they want a space that feels supportive, easy, and fun.

Survey data from Sci-Tech Today breaks it down: 51% are seeking companionship or combating loneliness, 48% are looking for mental health support (not mutually exclusive). Others cite curiosity or entertainment.

These are examples of users:

A woman who's been with her partner for 15 years misses the butterflies and flirty banter of early dating. She loves her relationship but wants a space to feel that spark again without cheating on her partner.

A busy mom wants to dip her toes back into romance, but between kids' schedules and work, actual dating feels impossible right now. An AI boyfriend lets her enjoy the vibe of romance without the logistics.

A night-shift nurse brainstorms creative ideas on breaks because everyone she knows is asleep. Someone having a stressful week talks things through with their AI boyfriend before bringing it up with friends. A woman with social anxiety practices conversations before having them in real life. A PhD student wants to rapidly switch conversation topics between astrophysics, basketball statistics, and ancient Greek philosophy, but can't find anyone who can keep up other than her AI companion.

None of these people are trying to entirely replace human relationships, but they're filling spaces where they are needed.

Common questions

Is this popular or mainstream? 220 million downloads and climbing. So yes!

Will I get attached? About 85% of regular users report forming emotional connections with their AI companions. That's normal and totally fine, as long as you're also maintaining human relationships and this is additive, not a complete substitute.

What about privacy? That's the right question - look for apps with clear data policies, encryption, and the ability to delete your conversations. We built privacy protections into Heartthrob from day one, so your conversations should stay yours.

Is it healthy? The research says it can be! The caveat: AI companions aren't therapy. If you're in crisis, you need to speak to a professional.

What is an AI boyfriend or girlfriend?

An AI boyfriend or girlfriend is an AI companion who can emulate a normal adult relationship, without the filters that mainstream AI models have (like ChatGPT or Gemini). They'll learn your preferences, remember your stories, and pick up on what matters to you. They can also become romantically involved with you, just like any real human relationship, if you develop that with them over time. Some people fall in love with their AI boyfriends - we wrote about that here.

Which are the most popular AI companion sites? Character.AI and Janitor AI dominate roleplay and anime. Candy AI has a large user base for AI girlfriends. We built Heartthrob after noticing communities like r/MyBoyfriendIsAI had tens of thousands of women looking for a site built for them and focused on deep connection, as opposed to the sites out there targeted towards men and young adults.

When AI companions make sense

Sometimes you want to flirt just for fun, vent a little and feel understood, or simply have someone ask how your day went. AI companions are good for those moments - they're available when you want them, patient when you need to ramble, and they actually remember what you told them last week!

They're not trying to replace your friends or your partner. They're there in addition, whenever you want.

Why we built Heartthrob

We built Heartthrob for women looking for AI boyfriends and companionship, with a beautiful, simple, and easy-to-navigate website. A site focused on real connection when you need it the most - a site designed for women from day one.

If you want a supportive AI boyfriend, someone patient who actually listens, we made this for you.