People are not just using AI to fix their resumes or phrase emails, but turning to it for intimacy, therapy and purpose. In a culture of emotional burnout, people are confessing to judgement-free AI and outsourcing emotional labour to bots. When leaving their vulnerable inner worlds to AI, people are limiting how they show up externally to a self-curated version.

•  Current top uses of AI are: (1) therapy/companionship, (2) organising life, (2) finding purpose
• Millions are using AI chatbots for free and instant therapy for emotional support, with gen Z believing they can develop a meaningful connection with a chatbot
• Dating hopefuls are generating their app bios, and asking AI to rewrite their messages, curating their image through AI mediation.

People are choosing when to automate their inner worlds, and when to feel it fully. Emotional control and emotional catharsis now coexist — as tools for self-definition.

•  Emotional dress rehearsals for the self. From “little monsters” prep for Lady Gaga to Swiftie friendship bracelets, concerts are emotional sandboxes where people can safely, and playfully, try on different selves for a few hours, rehearsing confidence, vulnerability and connection.
• Fitness as identity repair. HYROX, and marathons are booming among older Gen Zs and millennials to demonstrate resilience. Finishing something hard is a way to reclaim control, manage stress, navigate uncertainty, and reaffirm identity through physical accomplishment.

• Design for selfhood, not just ease. Build AI experiences that let users curate how they feel, sound and show up. In dating, wellness and finance, integrate AI tools that help people shape a version of themselves they feel safe and proud of.
• Be a part of event rituals. Beauty, fashion and wellness brands can help consumers become who they want to be, even if it’s for a night. Enable play by letting fans remix, create and perform, such as co-designed apparel or playlist building.
• Reframe achievement to self-affirmation. Especially in wellness and fitness, brands can reframe their product benefits to celebrate emotional wins, not only physical gains. Tap into communities where resilience is a shared flex.

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