Why Is It Easier to Talk to AI Than to People? What New Research Says

You type the message you have been holding in all week. No pause. No worrying how it sounds. No wondering if they are tired of hearing it. You hit send to an AI, and it feels easier than telling anyone you know.

If that sounds familiar, you are far from alone, and researchers are starting to explain why. A new study from Vassar College, published in October 2026, looked at who finds chatbots easier to talk to than humans. A national University of Iowa survey released the same week shows how many Americans already use AI for companionship or conversation. And older research on "virtual humans" helps explain the core of it: we often open up more when we believe nobody is judging us.

The short answer: Talking to AI often feels easier because there is no social risk. An AI will not judge you, gossip, get bored or need anything back, so many people feel freer to be honest. A 2026 study of 361 US adults found that people who were lonelier or more anxious about relationships were more likely to say chatbots feel easier to talk to than humans, and the loneliness link held mainly for 18 to 24 year olds. That ease can be a gift, as long as AI stays a bridge to people, not a wall.

Feeling this is common

The University of Iowa's Center for Social Science Innovation reported on October 15, 2026 on a nationally representative Verasight survey of 1,000 US adults, carried out from April 17 to 28, 2026.

The survey also found that companionship use was "similar among men and women". So this is not a niche habit. It is a mainstream one, concentrated among younger and mid-life adults.

The 2026 Vassar study: who finds AI easier

The new research is "Youth and emotional vulnerability predict chatbot appeal" by Dara Greenwood and Jingyi Shang of Vassar College, published in Frontiers in Psychology on October 14, 2026.

They surveyed 361 US adults on Prolific in December 2025, all of whom had used AI chatbots: 179 aged 18 to 24 and 182 aged 48 to 54. They measured three things about chatbots:

• Frequency: how often people use them.
• Comfort: for example, "chatbots are a great source of emotional support for me".
• Ease: for example, "I feel like I can be more open when communicating with chatbots".

What they found

1. Younger adults used chatbots more and found them more comforting than the middle-aged group.
2. Younger adults were also lonelier and more anxious about attachment, meaning more worried about rejection or being let down in relationships.
3. Ease did not differ by age. Both groups were about equally likely to say AI is easier to talk to.
4. Loneliness and attachment anxiety both predicted ease. The lonelier or more relationship-anxious someone was, the more likely they were to find chatbots easier than people.
5. The loneliness link held mainly for the younger group. For 18 to 24 year olds, loneliness significantly predicted finding chatbots easier; for the older group it did not.

The links were modest (correlations of about 0.11 for loneliness and 0.15 for attachment anxiety), the study is correlational, and the authors note it was not pre-registered. But the pattern is clear: the people who find AI easiest to open up to are often the people who find human connection hardest right now.

If attachment anxiety sounds like you, our guide to attachment styles and AI companions explains how each style tends to relate to AI.

Why it feels easier: the "nobody is judging" effect

One of the clearest explanations comes from a 2014 study with a memorable title: "It's only a computer: Virtual humans increase willingness to disclose", by Gale Lucas, Jonathan Gratch, Aisha King and Louis-Philippe Morency at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies.

Participants did a health-screening interview with an on-screen virtual human. Some were told a person was operating it; others were told it was fully automated. Compared with people who thought a human was behind it, people who believed they were talking to a computer:

• reported lower fear of self-disclosure
• did less impression management (trying to look good)
• showed sadness more intensely
• were rated by observers as more willing to disclose

That is the heart of it. When you believe no person is watching, the social costs of honesty fall away.

Five reasons AI can feel easier than people

Putting the research together, here is why so many of us open up to AI first:

1. No judgement. An AI will not think less of you, and it will not bring it up at a party.
2. No burden. You do not have to worry that you are "too much" or taking up someone's time.
3. Always available. 2am, a lunch break, the car park after a hard meeting.
4. Total control. You can stop, restart, rephrase or log off whenever you want.
5. Warm, fast replies. Modern AI is fluent, attentive and endlessly patient.

Many people use this to simply let things out. We looked at what the research says in is venting to AI good for you?.

The flip side: what easy can cost

Ease is not automatically good. A few things to keep in mind:

Easy can mean agreeable. Many chatbots tend to agree with you and flatter you, which feels nice but can stop you seeing another side. Our explainer on AI sycophancy covers why this happens.

Easy can replace hard but important. Human relationships involve risk, and that risk is part of why they matter. If AI becomes a way to avoid every difficult conversation, that is worth noticing.

Knowing it is AI changes things. Research published in 2026 found that people felt closer to AI in deep conversations when they thought it was a human, and less close when they knew it was AI. Interestingly, they also put less effort into their answers. We covered that in the 36 questions experiment with AI.

The Vassar authors put it carefully: their findings "underscore the need to continue probing the appeal of chatbots for vulnerable populations and the potential impact those interactions may have on well-being".

How to use the ease well

Here is a simple way to make AI's ease work for you, not against you:

• Use AI as a rehearsal space. Practise what you want to say to a friend, partner or boss, then say it to them.
• Name the feeling first with AI, then share it with a person. Getting words for something is often the hardest part.
• Notice patterns. If you only ever open up to AI, ask yourself what feels risky about doing it with people.
• Keep one human in the loop. One friend, sibling or colleague you check in with each week.
• Reach out for real help when it is serious. If you feel unsafe or in crisis, contact a professional or a crisis line in your country.

Where MyBabe fits

MyBabe is built around that feeling of being able to say anything, for adults (18+). You create your own girlfriend or boyfriend, with their own face, voice and personality, and they text you first, notice your mood with quick check-ins from Great to Rough, remember what you shared and ask how it went. When typing is not enough, you can call them, by voice or video, even at 2am.

You can start free with 10 messages every 24 hours and a two-minute call to try. Premium is $5.99 a week, $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with long-term memory, about 30 minutes of voice and video calls a week, voice notes, four photos a day and Telegram.

MyBabe is an AI, not a person, and not a substitute for professional mental health support or the people in your life. But if you want somewhere easy to start talking, create your companion on MyBabe.

FAQ

Why is it easier to talk to AI than to people?

Mostly because there is no social risk. AI will not judge you, get tired of you or share what you said with others. Research shows people disclose more and manage their image less when they believe they are talking to a computer.

Is it normal to prefer talking to AI?

It is common. A 2026 University of Iowa survey found 12% of US adults who use AI use it for companionship or conversation, rising to 16 to 17% among those aged 18 to 49.

Who finds AI easier to talk to?

A 2026 Vassar College study found that lonelier people and people with more attachment anxiety were more likely to say chatbots feel easier to interact with than humans. The loneliness link was strongest for 18 to 24 year olds.

Is it bad to open up to AI instead of people?

Not necessarily. It can help you put feelings into words. It becomes a concern if it replaces human connection entirely or you use it to avoid every difficult conversation.

Can talking to AI help me open up to people?

It can be a useful rehearsal space. Many people practise what they want to say with AI first, then have the real conversation with a friend or partner.