Therapists, All Other

Therapy work depends heavily on human skills, so AI can only help with parts of it. For example, some people already use AI chatbots (like ChatGPT) to talk about personal problems, and a few even report these chats felt as good as or better than therapy ^{[1] [2]}. However, experts warn that AI still can’t replace real therapists’ empathy and understanding ^{[1] [3]}.

In practice, AI is mostly used behind the scenes. Large clinics use “AI scribes” to take notes, and one study found these tools saved doctors nearly 16,000 hours of paperwork in a year ^{[4] [5]}. In art or music therapy, new “creative AI” tools can generate images or sounds to inspire clients, but researchers note that over-relying on these tools could actually harm the therapy process ^{[3] [1]}.

In short, no example of a robot therapist is common today – AI mainly aids therapists with tasks like note-taking and idea-generating, while the core counseling stays human.

Several factors make AI in therapy grow slowly and carefully. On the plus side, many AI tools are already available, often cheaply. For instance, Fortune reports ChatGPT’s advanced features cost about \$200 a month for unlimited chats, while a human therapy session can cost up to \$200 per hour ^[1].

Big health systems also see strong economic benefits: Kaiser Permanente used an AI scribe over 2.5 million patient visits and cut nearly 16,000 hours of work ^[5]. These savings encourage adoption of AI for administrative support. On the other hand, mental health data are sensitive and people trust human therapists more.

Therapists worry about privacy, accuracy, and losing personal connection, so most see AI as a helper, not a replacement ^{[1] [3]}. In areas with few therapists, AI chatbots might be adopted faster to fill gaps (one report noted their appeal where therapy is scarce) ^[2]. Overall, experts expect AI to be adopted mainly for support tasks (like paperwork or scheduling) and as low-cost supplements, while face-to-face therapy remains centered on human empathy ^{[4] [1]}.

In other words, AI can free therapists from some busywork, but the human skills of listening and caring stay at the heart of the job ^{[1] [3]}.