Young and depressed? Try Woebot! The rise of mental health chatbots in the US

Fifteen-year-old Jordyne Lewis was stressed out. The high school sophomore from Harrisburg, North Carolina, was overwhelmed with schoolwork, never mind the uncertainty of living in a pandemic that has dragged on for two long years. Despite the challenges, she never turned to her school counselor or sought out a therapist. Instead, she shared her feelings with a robot. Lewis has struggled to cope with the changes and anxieties of pandemic life and for this extroverted teenager, loneliness and social isolation were among the biggest hardships.