As incidences of anxiety, stress and depression rise worldwide, a new survey suggests more and more people are turning to AI chatbots for mental health support despite concerns about the quality of the advice they receive.
More than six in 10 people seek mental health advice through artificial intelligence (AI), even though 45% are dissatisfied with the advice they receive, according to a new survey by AXA and IPSOS.
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The latest edition of the annual Mind Health Report found that 68% of people are potentially affected by anxiety, stress or depression, even at mild levels. The figure rises to 85% among those aged 18 to 24 years.
The study was conducted by the health insurance company AXA and the multinational market research firm IPSOS. It analysed interviews from 19,000 adults aged 18 to 75 across 18 countries, between 12 January and 16 February 2026.
Researchers found that 46% of people reported that they are struggling or languishing. The most commonly listed feeling was being “down-hearted and blue,” a response cited by 65% of respondents.
Young people suffer the most
By age group, those aged 18 to 24 reported the greatest struggles. Around 43% were potentially affected by depression, anxiety or stress at severe or more extreme levels, almost double the global average of 26%.
The study found that young people displayed specific characteristics in how openly they discussed mental health, sought help and used tools to address their struggles.
For Khaled El Shaarany, head of health and prevention at AXA, it will be key to monitor how this age group evolves.
“There's certainly a lot of studies that need to be done on that, but it doesn't take much to imagine that aggravated screen use and more technology dependencies are generating more isolation, more loneliness in this younger generation,” he told Euronews Health.
What drives worsening mental health?
Screen and technology use was identified in the study as a major contributor to poor mental health.
The survey found that people spend an average of 5.1 hours per day on screens, excluding working, studying and weekend activities.
Screen use varied significantly between countries, ranging from 6.4 hours per day in Thailand and the Philippines to 4.2 hours in Japan and 4.1 in Switzerland.
Around 66% of the respondents reported that screen use impacted their daily lives, at least moderately, affecting quality of sleep, concentration and levels of physical activity. For 39%, these impacts were described as “extreme”.
“People admit that their screen usage is affecting multiple aspects of their life, with more than a third saying that it is increasing social isolation,” Sophie Morin, account director at IPSOS public affairs, told Euronews Health.
Technology: Part of the problem or part of the solution?
The study identified several barriers preventing people from accessing mental health care, including cost and time constraints.
“What is preoccupying is that among people who are struggling, 43% of them report no professional help in the past 12 months, and that figure is quite alarming,” Morin said.
“They did not seek help because many of them, still more than a quarter, believe that there is no need for medical attention,” she added.
Alongside professional medical attention, the study found that people increasingly turn to self-management solutions, including physical activity, reaching out to family members and friends, and AI.
Some 63% of participants reported using AI-driven tools such as ChatGPT and other AI bots for mental health-related questions.
Around 38% reported trusting AI platforms more than mental health professionals, even though most AI users said they were not satisfied with the answers the chatbots provide.
“We really need to be extremely careful not to describe AI as a horrible thing for mental health,” El Shaarany said.
“It's very important for us to insist on that, because AI is available 24/7, it's free, and it’s there on your phone when you are alone at 11pm or 1am in your room, and you're not feeling well,” he added.
Those moments, he said, are when it can be “extremely important” to be able to have someone, or something, to interact with.
However, El Shaarany stressed using AI chatbots for mental health support does not necessarily mean using general-purpose platforms.
“If you're using ChatGPT or Gemini, these are general AI models that are not built for that. It is like talking to your friend, who knows a little bit about this, but not to a doctor,” he said.
"Imagine you're a teenager, you have anxiety, you are experiencing palpitations, or you are worried about your heart rate, and you ask AI what that could be. The answer could be a list of 20 possible causes, some of them very serious,” El Shaarany stressed.
“That is not going to help with your anxiety, even though the information itself may be scientifically accurate.”
According to El Shaarany, AI platforms need to have the necessary guardrails to identify warning signs that require specific treatment or have the mechanism to forward them and alert the right medical professionals.
