35% of U.S. ChatGPT users seek emotional support from the platform (n=750), making it a mainstream use case.
Women are 1.6x more likely to use ChatGPT for emotional support (42% of women vs 26% of men).
AI emotional support usage declines as income rises, from 39% (low-income) to 30% (high-income).
AI emotional support crosses generational lines, with Baby Boomers (35%) nearly matching Millennials (38%).
Breaking Down the Numbers: Who Turns to ChatGPT for Emotional Support
35% of U.S. ChatGPT users seek emotional support from the platform (n=750), establishing emotional support as a mainstream use case.
However, this usage reveals striking gender disparities: women use ChatGPT for emotional support at significantly higher rates than men (42% vs 26%), mirroring patterns seen in traditional mental health services.
Remarkably, this 1.6x difference persists even when ChatGPT eliminates common barriers like cost, social stigma, scheduling constraints, and face-to-face vulnerability.
AI emotional support usage declines as income increases, dropping from 39% among low-income users (<$49k) to 34% for middle-income users ($50k-$99k) and 30% among high-income users ($100k+).
Lower-income users, who face greater barriers to accessing professional mental health services, appear more likely to turn to cheaper AI alternatives, while higher earners may have greater access to traditional therapy resources and thus rely less heavily on AI-based emotional support.
While gender and income each independently influence AI emotional support usage, their intersection reveals a more nuanced pattern.
While women maintain consistent 42-44% usage rates regardless of income level, men's usage drops sharply from 32% among lower earners to 20% among higher earners.
All generations use ChatGPT for emotional support at similar rates. Millennials lead at 38%, followed by Baby Boomers (35%), Gen Z (34%), and Gen X (31%), creating an unexpectedly flat distribution that contrasts with typical technology adoption curves, where older users lag behind younger ones.
5 Ways Users Rely on ChatGPT for Emotional Support
After interviewing 750 ChatGPT users, clear patterns emerged in how people seek emotional support from AI.
Here are the five primary ways users are turning to ChatGPT for emotional help - illustrated with user quotes.
Methodology
This analysis draws from kGrid’s comprehensive voice-of-customer study with a representative sample of 750 U.S. ChatGPT users conducted between July 21-31, 2025. The research examined broader ChatGPT usage patterns, pricing preferences, and feature adoption, with emotional support emerging as a significant finding.
The study combined structured surveys with in-depth interviews conducted by kGrid's custom AI interviewer