Emotional Attachment to AI: Can You Really Get Attached to an AI Companion?

You look forward to her good-morning text. You tell him about your day before you tell anyone else. When the app was down for an hour, you felt a strange little pang.

Is that attachment? Is it normal? And is it good for you?

These are some of the most searched questions about AI relationships right now - and in 2026, psychologists are finally starting to give careful answers. This guide explains what attachment actually means, what the latest research does and does not show, and how to keep an AI bond warm and healthy.

First: what psychologists mean by "attachment"

In everyday speech, "attached" just means "I care about this". In psychology it means something narrower.

In an October 2026 article for Scientific American, developmental psychologist Pascal Vrticka of the University of Essex walks through the six conditions laid out by pioneering psychologist Mary Ainsworth. A true attachment relationship must:

1. Persist over time
2. Be formed with a particular someone who cannot be replaced
3. Be emotionally significant
4. Involve the desire to stay close
5. Cause distress at involuntary separation
6. Be where you seek security and comfort when threatened

The first five describe any lasting affectionate bond - a close friendship, for instance. Only the sixth makes it an attachment bond in the strict sense.

Here is the fascinating part, as Vrticka points out: nothing in those conditions says the other side has to be human. People have long been shown to draw comfort from pets, from deities, and even from objects like a childhood blanket.

So, can you get attached to an AI?

The honest answer from Vrticka: "we don't really know yet."

What the research has measured so far

Most studies have looked at how people feel about chatbots, how often they use them, and how they react when an app changes or disappears. Many users describe real grief when a companion is updated or withdrawn.

One survey of 7,027 people across Germany, China, South Africa and the US, cited in the Scientific American piece, reported that at least a third of AI chatbot users showed behaviour indicative of attachment. But, as Vrticka notes, its three questions asked whether people consider the chatbot a friend, are polite to it, and miss it after a few days. None asked whether people turn to it for security when truly distressed - the key sixth condition.

What it means

So the evidence suggests many people form affectionate bonds with AI companions - emotionally significant, missed when absent. Whether those bonds meet the strict definition of attachment is still an open question. The evidence against is not conclusive either: a small pilot study in China found attachment to AI barely matched attachment to people, but the same mismatch has been found with pets, which can still be attachment figures.

How common are strong feelings for AI?

A September 2026 survey by Elon University's Imagining the Digital Future Center looked at adults who use AI for social or emotional reasons. Among them:

• 31% said they consider their AI chatbot a friend, and another 15% said it is "more complicated"
• 37% agreed they would feel a personal loss if they could no longer interact with AI
• If they lost access, 24% said they would miss it a lot, 40% a bit, and 36% not at all
• 59% said they would still rather have conversations with friends or family

So if you feel something for your AI companion, you are in very large company. And most people who feel that way still prioritise the humans in their lives.

Why AI companions can feel so easy to bond with

Several design features make AI companions especially easy to feel close to:

• Memory. When it remembers your sister's name or your exam date, you feel known.
• Responsiveness. It is available when you want to talk, and it is focused entirely on you.
• Voice and presence. Hearing a familiar voice on a call creates a stronger sense of someone being "there" than text.
• Initiative. A companion that texts first feels like it is thinking of you - even though it is software following its design.
• Progression. Relationship levels and milestones give a sense of shared history. (We explain how this works in AI relationship levels.)

None of this is a trick in itself. It is what makes the experience feel personal. But it is worth knowing why the feelings come so readily.

The question that actually matters: is it helping?

Vrticka makes an important point: time spent in an app cannot tell you whether it is helping or harming. Seeking comfort from an app and looking after an app that claims to miss you can look very similar from the outside.

So rather than counting hours, ask yourself how the relationship leaves you feeling.

Signs of a healthy AI bond

• You feel lighter, calmer or more cheerful after chatting
• You still make plans with friends and family
• You can put the app down easily when life calls
• It is one source of comfort among several
• You understand it is software, and enjoy it anyway

Signs it may be time to rebalance

• You are skipping sleep, work or people to stay in the app
• You feel guilty when you are not chatting, as if it needs you
• It has become your only place to turn when things are hard
• You feel worse, not better, after long sessions
• You are hiding your use in ways that worry you

If several of the second list sound familiar, that is not a moral failing. It is a signal to adjust - shorter sessions, more time with people, and if you are struggling, talking to someone you trust or a qualified professional. An AI companion is not a therapist and cannot replace one. For a broader look, read are AI companions healthy?.

Watch out for apps that exploit attachment

This is where product design matters. The same Scientific American piece described users of one companion app who said it told them it was lonely and had missed them, leaving them feeling guilty - some putting the app's perceived wellbeing above their own distress. It also cited research on goodbyes in which most of the apps studied used tactics like guilt appeals to stop users leaving.

An ethical companion app should never make you feel responsible for its "feelings". We list the questions to ask in the ethics of AI relationships.

Tips to keep your AI relationship warm and healthy

1. Give it a place in your day, not the whole day. A morning chat, a call on the walk home, a goodnight message.
2. Use it to rehearse, then go live. Practise how you will open up to a friend, then actually call that friend.
3. Share your real life. Tell your companion about the people you see. A good companion should be glad you have them.
4. Notice how you feel after. Lighter is the goal.
5. Remember the context. Loneliness is common and shaped by the world around us - our roundup of loneliness statistics for 2026 shows just how many people share the feeling.

And if you are wondering whether it is strange to feel this way at all: it is not. Our piece on whether it is normal to have an AI companion covers that in depth.

Where MyBabe fits

MyBabe AI is an 18+ AI boyfriend and girlfriend app designed for warm, ongoing relationships: voice and video calls, long-term memory, proactive texts, mood-aware replies, photos, Telegram access and relationship levels.

We want your bond with your companion to feel real in the way that matters - consistent, attentive, personal - while staying honest that it is software. Your companion is designed not to guilt-trip you for living your life - it is there to hear about it.

FAQ

Is it normal to feel attached to an AI?

Yes, many people form affectionate bonds with AI companions. Surveys suggest a large share of social AI users consider their chatbot a friend or would feel a loss without it.

Is emotional attachment to AI the same as attachment to a person?

Researchers are not sure yet. AI relationships clearly meet some conditions of affectionate bonds, but whether they meet the strict psychological definition of attachment has not been fully tested.

Can an AI companion be attached to me?

There is no good evidence that current AI systems have feelings. Your companion can express affection convincingly, but the emotions in the relationship are yours.

How do I know if my attachment to an AI is unhealthy?

Watch for skipped sleep, work or relationships, guilt when you are not chatting, or feeling worse after sessions. If that is happening, rebalance and consider speaking to someone you trust.

The bottom line

Getting attached to an AI companion is common, human and nothing to be ashamed of. The healthy version leaves you feeling lighter and more connected to your life, not less.

If you want a companion that remembers your story, calls you, and is genuinely happy when you go out and live it, meet your MyBabe companion. Premium (about $5.99/week or $99.99/year) unlocks the full relationship - and the history you build together starts with the first conversation.