Building Confidence Through AI Chatbot Usage and Interactions

Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly common part of everyday life, especially through the use of AI chatbots. These systems are designed to communicate with users through natural language, answer questions, provide suggestions, and provide support in educational, emotional, and social contexts. As AI chatbots become more human-like in their responses, users may begin to interact with them not only as digital tools but also as social companions. Phang et al. (2025) explain that the conversational style of systems such as ChatGPT, including their “ability to simulate human-like interactions,” can lead users to personify or anthropomorphize them. This development is important to study because young people are still developing their confidence, communication skills, and social identity.
One possible benefit of AI chatbot usage is that it may help youths build confidence in communication. Some young people may feel shy, anxious, or afraid of being judged when speaking to teachers, classmates, parents, or peers. In this situation, chatbots may provide a safer and less intimidating space for them to practise expressing their thoughts. Suriano, Fabio, zand Plebe (2025) note that chatbot interaction can offer “interaction without judgment and without social pressures,” which may reduce anxiety and create a more comfortable communication environment. This suggests that AI chatbots may support confidence by allowing users to ask questions, explore ideas, and express emotions without the same pressure they may feel in face-to-face situations.
However, the use of AI chatbots also creates concerns about reduced human interaction. Human communication involves body language, tone of voice, empathy, disagreement, emotional awareness, and unpredictable responses. These elements are important in developing real-world confidence and social skills. Malfacini (2025) identifies two major concerns regarding companion AI: the “replacement concern” and the “deskilling concern”. The replacement concern refers to the possibility that AI may satisfy users’ social and emotional needs to the point that it replaces human relationships. The deskilling concern refers to the possibility that people may become less prepared for real relationships because AI interactions often require less emotional effort than human relationships.

help youths, parents, educators, and policymakers encourage a healthier and more balanced use of AI technology

1. Abdelfattah, M., Naeem, M., Al Mata’ni, A., Basu, S., Pecelj, S., Charni, S., Mathew, M., Wedderburn, M., Lamti, M., Shawky, W. M., Khan, S., Awladwadair, R., Al Ghawi, A., & El Kamili, S. (2026). Enhancing EFL learners’ speaking proficiency and confidence using AI-conversational apps: A quasi-experimental mixed-methods pilot study. International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching, 16(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.409358 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Brunnlechner, H. (2025). AI usage, self-efficacy, and employee performance: Balancing productivity gains and unintended consequences [Master’s thesis, University of Twente]. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Gaikar, B. S., & Solunke, P. (2026). Impact of artificial intelligence on human psychology. Aarhat Multidisciplinary International Education Research Journal, 15(Special Issue 1[c]), 83–89. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Li, Z., Cai, C., Wu, L., & Wang, X. (2026). The impact of college students’ social anxiety on human-machine trust: The mediating role of perceived intelligence and the moderating role of psychological anthropomorphism. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, Article 1786901. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1786901 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Liu, A. R., Pataranutaporn, P., & Maes, P. (2025). Chatbot companionship: A mixed-methods study of companion chatbot usage patterns and their relationship to loneliness in active users. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.21596 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Malfacini, K. (2025). The impacts of companion AI on human relationships: Risks, benefits, and design considerations. AI & Society, 40, 5527–5540. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02318-6 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. McBain, R. K., Bozick, R., Diliberti, M., Zhang, L. A., Zhang, F., Burnett, A., Kofner, A., Rader, B., Breslau, J., Stein, B. D., Mehrotra, A., Uscher-Pines, L., Cantor, J., & Yu, H. (2025). Use of generative AI for mental health advice among US adolescents and young adults. JAMA Network Open, 8(11), Article e2542281. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.42281 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Parsakia, K. (2023). The effect of chatbots and AI on the self-efficacy, self-esteem, problem-solving and critical thinking of students. Health Nexus, 1(1), 71–76. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Phang, J., Lampe, M., Ahmad, L., Agarwal, S., Fang, C. M., Liu, A. R., Danry, V., Lee, E., Chan, S. W. T., Pataranutaporn, P., & Maes, P. (2025). Investigating affective use and emotional well-being on ChatGPT. OpenAI. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Ren, L., Stephens, J. M., & Lee, K. (2026). The impact of AI on learners’ self-efficacy: A meta-analysis. Behavioral Sciences, 16(1), Article 158. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16010158 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Sun, X., Wang, Y., & McDaniel, B. T. (2026). AI companions and adolescent social relationships: Benefits, risks, and bidirectional influences. Child Development Perspectives. Advance online publication. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Suriano, R., Fabio, R. A., & Plebe, A. (2025). Theory of mind and social anxiety in emotional attachment to AI chatbots in individuals with autistic traits. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 47, 3185–3192. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Vorac, D., Schmidtova, N., Machalova, M., Skorna, S., Kopecky, K., Kvintova, J., Szotkowski, R., & Novotny, J. S. (2026). Multi-domain self-esteem profiles associated with adolescent engagement with conversational AI: A latent profile analysis [Preprint]. Preprints.org. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202603.1646.v1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Wyatt, Z. (2025). Talk to me: AI companions in the age of disconnection. Medicine & Clinical Science, 7(4), Article 050. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Yao, R., Qi, G., Sheng, D., Sun, H., & Zhang, J. (2025). Connecting self-esteem to problematic AI chatbot use: The multiple mediating roles of positive and negative psychological states. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1453072. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1453072 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Yoo, D. W., Shi, J. M., Rodriguez, V. J., & Saha, K. (2026). AI chatbots for mental health self-management: Lived experience-centered qualitative study. JMIR Mental Health, 13, Article e78288. https://doi.org/10.2196/78288 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Impact of Ownership Structure on Dividend Payout Policy of Listed Plantation Companies in Sri Lanka
• Urban Sustainability in North-East India: A Study through the lens of NER-SDG index
• Performance Assessment of Predictive Forecasting Techniques for Enhancing Hospital Supply Chain Efficiency in Healthcare Logistics
• The Fractured Self in Julian Barnes' Postmodern Fiction: Identity Crisis and Deflation in Metroland and the Sense of an Ending
• Impact of Flood on the Employment, Labour Productivity and Migration of Agricultural Labour in North Bihar