Texas-based therapy firm asked Americans in 2025 about their bonds with AI and found over 53% had ‘some kind of relationship’ with AI, while half of adults 60+ said AI romance is not cheating

Romance with Artificial intelligence is no longer just science fiction. Beyond work, quick search and entertainment, it's getting into more personal areas of human life: relationships. A new survey suggests that a significant share of American adults have formed some kind of bond with an AI system, with some describing those connections as romantic or intimate.

The study, published by Texas-based therapy firm Vantage Point Counseling on September 22, 2025, surveyed 1,012 adults in the United States about their relationships and interactions with AI and computer systems.

More than half reported a relationship with AI

According to the study, a staggering 53.95% of participants said they had “some kind of relationship with an AI system.” The researchers used “relationship” broadly, including friendships, work or business relationships, therapist-patient connections and other forms of interaction.

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ChatGPT was the AI system most commonly named by participants, followed by Character.ai, Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Gemini. Other platforms mentioned included Claude, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, Replika and several AI companion services.

The survey found that 28.16% of participants said they had experienced at least one intimate or romantic relationship with an AI system. The researchers noted that some respondents specifically distinguished between using AI for role-play or sexual conversations and considering it a genuine relationship. One anonymous study participant told: “[I] have sexual chats but I don’t see it as a relationship. It’s a thing.”

Among participants who reported having some relationship with AI, 52.20% said they were currently engaging in at least one intimate or romantic relationship with an AI system.

AI romance does not necessarily replace human relationships

One of the study's more unexpected findings was that AI intimacy was not limited to people who were isolated or unable to find human partners.

Among those reporting intimate or romantic AI relationships, 53.34% were also in a successful committed human relationship, including marriage, long-term dating or engagement. Meanwhile, 37.55% said they were not currently seeking a human relationship or had recently been unsuccessful in pursuing one.

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The survey also found differences in how generations view AI intimacy and cheating.

Among adults aged 60 and older, 50.29% said an intimate or romantic AI relationship alongside a human relationship should not be considered cheating. By comparison, only 33.33% of those aged 18 to 29 took that view.

Younger adults were more likely to reject the practice altogether. 56.52% of 18-to-29-year-olds said an AI romantic relationship alongside a human relationship was cheating and unacceptable, compared with 42.29% among those aged 60 and above.