AI can be more comforting than a person—our research shows why

Recent experiments show that generative AI messages are often rated as more empathic and emotionally supportive than those written by humans, largely because the models consistently provide structured, actionable advice. However, this perceived advantage diminishes when recipients are informed the message came from an AI, with individuals continuing to prefer human emotional support due to relational context and perceived effort. For psychology and communication educators, these findings highlight critical dynamics between message composition, actionable coping strategies, and source attribution in emotional support.

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