New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- On a humid evening in Bengaluru, Ayushi Devidas, 23, a social media executive, sat cross-legged on her bed, whispering her anxieties into her phone. "I feel like I'm failing at everything," she typed. Seconds later, her AI companion replied: I hear you. It's tough to feel that way, but remember, you're doing your best and that counts. Devidas describes the moment as "oddly comforting." She had never opened up to a therapist before but the chatbot felt less intimidating, always available, and never judgmental. "I knew it wasn't real empathy," she admits, "but I just needed someone, rather, anyone, to respond."

Devidas' story is hardly unusual. Across cities, people are turning to generative AI chatbots and companion...