Can AI improve psychotherapy?

The year 2025 witnessed emerging risks associated with the use of AI chatbots as quasi-therapists (and the state of Illinois responding by restricting the marketing of these tools as such). Early in 2026, however, we have a study that hints at how integrating AI tools into therapy might improve its effectiveness. One tool is the “guided intake” which uses dialogue to facilitate reflection on and clarification of the reasons for seeking therapy. Another is the creation of session “takeaways” and “action items.” In a medRxiv pre-print, Graupensperger et al. (2026) followed over 25,000 adults who were receiving employer-sponsored behavioral health programs, some representing traditional psychotherapy and others featuring the AI tools. They found the psychotherapy layered with the AI tools was associated with greater engagement and reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms. The benefit was greater for those with more severe symptoms. Importantly, the integration of the AI features did not negatively affect client perception of the therapeutic alliance with the clinician. While these are preliminary findings, they point to the potential for AI to support and boost clinician-delivered psychotherapy.