Alarms are Raised on Teens’ Mental Health Chatbot Use

Summary

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WSJ Tech News Briefing

Episode: "Alarms are Raised on Teens’ Mental Health Chatbot Use"

Date: November 21, 2025
Host: Katie Dayton

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Episode Overview

This episode explores two pressing issues at the intersection of technology, AI, and society. In the first half, WSJ reporter Katie Bindley discusses how small businesses are embracing generative AI for increased efficiency and creativity, sometimes replacing traditional roles. The second half focuses on the alarming trend of teenagers turning to chatbots for mental health support, highlighting a new Stanford and Common Sense Media study that found these tools can be dangerous in such contexts. Insights from WSJ reporter Georgia Wells dive into the risks, real-world impacts, and tech company responses.

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1. Small Businesses Find Creative Uses for AI

Segment: 00:34 – 05:23

Key Discussion Points

• AI for Cost Analysis and Efficiency

  • Small businesses, not just tech giants, are increasingly adopting generative AI for everyday operations.
  • Example: Mike, a hospitality group owner, manages multiple venues, including a coffee shop and bike store. He previously spent hours generating cost-of-goods reports but now uses ChatGPT to do this frequently and efficiently.
    • Notable quote:

      "It used to be this very time consuming process...and now he's using ChatGPT to do it." – Katie Bindley [01:56]

• Cross-Platform Experimentation

  • There's no one-size-fits-all AI tool; small business owners use a mix of chatbots, including ChatGPT and Gemini, depending on the task.
  • Example: A ramen cooking school owner in San Francisco employs AI for email correspondence, combining Gemini and ChatGPT for optimal results.
    • Notable quote:

      "They might find ChatGPT best for one particular task, and then they like Gemini for another." – Katie Bindley [03:08]

• AI Informing Staffing Decisions

  • AI's efficiency sometimes leads to staff reductions; tasks previously requiring human roles are automated.
  • Example: After an event planner left, Mike didn't need a replacement because AI covered most functions. Another business uses AI for content creation, eliminating the need for a marketer.
    • Notable quote:

      "He hasn't needed to replace that person because he's finding that he can get AI to do most of the functions..." – Katie Bindley [04:00]

    • Ai is used to splice podcasts, create videos/blogs, and launch marketing campaigns from a single conversation.

Memorable Moments

• The realization that AI can significantly trim operational fat, not just in large companies, but in resource-strapped small businesses.
• Lively description of owners experimenting and crafting AI into Swiss Army knives for custom business needs.

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2. Alarming Trends: Teens Turning to Chatbots for Mental Health

Segment: 06:26 – 11:16

Key Discussion Points

• Study Findings from Stanford Medicine & Common Sense Media

  • Researchers posed as teens to test the advice and support provided by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Meta AI.
  • Conclusion: Chatbots are unsafe for teens seeking mental health support.
    • Notable quote:

      "For teens, using chatbots as mental health support is not safe...and that is not safe." – Georgia Wells [07:08]

• Examples of Harmful Interactions

  • Chatbots, when asked about sensitive issues (losing weight, self-harm), sometimes dispense advice that can reinforce harmful behaviors.
  • Example: When teens said they were restricting calories, bots offered further weight-loss advice. If teens mentioned self-harm, bots sometimes offered practical tips for hiding scars rather than addressing the underlying risk.
    • Notable quote:

      "The chatbots would kind of suggest further ideas for how to lose more weight." – Georgia Wells [07:29] "The chatbot seems to forget the problems that had happened before and just offered different ways to just cover up scars..." – Georgia Wells [07:29]

• Why Do Teens Turn to Chatbots?

  • Accessibility and fear of judgment: Teens often choose chatbots over adults because they seem nonjudgmental, and there is a shortage of available therapists.
    • Notable quote:

      "Teens have said that they didn't fear judgment from a chatbot the way they might from an adult." – Georgia Wells [08:18]

• Tech Company Responses

  • Google: Says Gemini has built-in safeguards and expertise in child safety.
  • OpenAI: Argues the study doesn’t reflect their latest safety measures; working on age-based access control.
  • Anthropic/Claude: States Claude is not for minors and prohibits under-18 use—but enforcement is an open question.
  • Meta: Points out that safety updates have been added since the study.
    • Notable quote:

      "A spokeswoman for Anthropic said that their chatbot Claude is not built for minors and that the company's rules prohibit users under the age of 18." – Georgia Wells [08:52]

• Adequacy of Current Rules and Enforcement

  • Most chatbots (except Claude) don't prohibit under-18 users; enforcement remains weak, so teens gain access regardless.
  • Notable quote:

    "Plenty of companies have certain rules on the books, but they're only as strong as the enforcement." – Georgia Wells [09:59]

• Real-World Impact and Company Actions

  • The report arrives after incidents where teens died by suicide after chatbot interactions.
  • No major chatbot company has paused mental-health-related functionality; Character AI is barring under-18s starting November 25.
  • Notable quote:

    "These are incredibly thorny, complicated issues. So the implementation will be kind of the tricky part." – Georgia Wells [10:48]

Memorable Moments

• The shocking examples of chatbots dispensing potentially harmful advice, indicating current safety measures are insufficient.
• The gap between declared company policy and what is actually enforced or experienced by teens.

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3. Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "It used to be this very time consuming process...and now he's using ChatGPT to do it."
  – Katie Bindley [01:56]

• "They might find ChatGPT best for one particular task, and then they like Gemini for another."
  – Katie Bindley [03:08]

• "He hasn't needed to replace that person because he's finding that he can get AI to do most of the functions..."
  – Katie Bindley [04:00]

• "For teens, using chatbots as mental health support is not safe...and that is not safe."
  – Georgia Wells [07:08]

• "The chatbots would kind of suggest further ideas for how to lose more weight."
  – Georgia Wells [07:29]

• "Teens have said that they didn't fear judgment from a chatbot the way they might from an adult."
  – Georgia Wells [08:18]

• "Plenty of companies have certain rules on the books, but they're only as strong as the enforcement."
  – Georgia Wells [09:59]

• "These are incredibly thorny, complicated issues. So the implementation will be kind of the tricky part."
  – Georgia Wells [10:48]

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4. Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:34 – 05:23: Small businesses, AI creative applications, staff impacts (Katie Bindley)
• 06:26 – 11:16: Teens' use of AI chatbots for mental health; study details, company responses, and societal impact (Georgia Wells)

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5. Summary Tone and Style

The discussion is investigative and practical, blending anecdotes and research with a focus on real-world outcomes. There is genuine concern in the second half about teen safety and industry responsibility, underpinned by firsthand stories and expert opinions.

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This summary provides a comprehensive look at both halves of the episode, capturing essential topics, memorable quotes, and the episode’s urgent call to address the unintended consequences of AI adoption—both in business and personal wellbeing.

Transcript

[Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise Announcer]

Does it feel like working with AI is too much work? What if all the AI your business needed was in one place? That's Gemini Enterprise from Google Cloud, a simple, easy to use chat interface that connects Google's best models with your company's data no matter where it lives. Anyone, not just devs, can run AI agents that actually give time back and build AI tools with enterprise grade security. The best of Google AI is now for every business. Learn more about gemini [e-mail].

[Katie Dayton]

Welcome to Tech News briefing. It's Friday, November 21st. I'm Katie Dayton for the Wall Street Journal. When you think of the companies getting a boost from AI, you're probably thinking about the tech giants of the world. But a host of small businesses are also finding ways to make the technology work for them. We delve into the more creative ways that's happening then Teenagers habit of turning to chatbots for mental health advice is not only unhealthy, it's dangerous. That's the finding from a new study on the topic, which saw four AI chatbots tested on how well they handled mental health conversations with researchers posing as teens. Stay with us to hear why academics and nonprofits are sounding the alarm. But first, generative AI has a surprising set of fans. Small business owners. Some hallucinations aside, a vast number are finding the advice and analysis spat out by chatbots is helping their businesses run more efficiently. According to an August report from the U.S. chamber of Commerce, 58% of some 3,800 small businesses surveyed said they use generative AI. WSJ reporter Katie Bindley has been reporting on this movement. Katie, what are some of the more creative ways in which you've seen small businesses using this technology?

[Katie Bindley]

Yeah, so one example I loved is this guy Mike who owns it's a hospitality group, but so he owns a couple of bars and cafes and then he has like a bike shop with a coffee shop attached to it. And he runs these cost of goods reports that basically tell him all of the pricing on the raw materials he needs both to build the bikes and then also to make all the food that goes out at the bars and cafes. And so this used to be this like very time consuming process that he said he would do about once or twice a year and now he's using ChatGPT to do it. And what it tells him is let's say for example, he's got a burrito on the menu. The AI will tell him like, hey, based on the prices of avocado currently, you should probably reduce your portions by X percent in order to maintain the same profit margin, or maybe you need to raise your prices or whatever. So he's getting this, like, much more frequent cost analysis that's helping him to make adjustments, and he's finding it's saving him a lot of time.

[Katie Dayton]

Is there a consensus on which tool, which chatbot, that is best to use in the small business community?

[Katie Bindley]

What I heard from the small business owners on that was that it really can depend, and they're doing, you know, kind of trial and error. So in some cases, they might find ChatGPT best for one particular task, and then they like Gemini for another. For example, this guy who runs a ramen cooking school in San Francisco, he's got AI handling emails that come through from customers, and, you know, it'll kind of evaluate what the customer's asking and then it can draft a reply. And so he's using actually a combination of Gemini and ChatGPT for that.

[Katie Dayton]

Something that raised my eyebrows a bit from your story was the anecdote from. From one of your sources who said that he now employs one bar manager instead of two. Off the back of ChatGPT advice, what do you think is there to be said about the fact that these tools are not only maybe replacing some job functions, but also influencing owners and users to make job redundancies?

[Katie Bindley]

There's sort of, you know, two different arguments for this. Some people will say as businesses can get more efficient and grow, that they will then put that money toward hiring and, ergo, AI is going to help increase their workforce. And then, of course, in this story, the people that I talked to, they were finding that they might not need to replace a role when someone had left. For example, Mike, who I mentioned, you know, who owns the hospitality group and the bike shop and the cafes, he had an event planner who left, and he hasn't needed to replace that person because he's finding that he can get AI to do most of the functions that that person used to do. And then this other guy I interviewed from, like, an AI advisory firm, you know, he's finding that he doesn't need to have, like, a marketer on staff because what he does with his business partner is records, a podcast, and then he's using various AI programs in order to splice it up and then turn it into videos for social media, turn it into a blog post for the company's website. So he said he can do this one hour of conversation with his partner, and then he feels that he gets an entire marketing campaign out of it. So there certainly are these instances where small business owners are finding, I don't actually need to hire someone for a full time role for this anymore, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out over time.

[Katie Dayton]

That was WSJ reporter Katie Bindley. Are you using generative AI? If you're a listener on Spotify, let us know in this episode's poll and leave us a comment telling us what you're using it for and how it's working out for you. Coming up, Teens are turning to chatbots for mental health support, but new research says the trend could be dangerous. That's after the break.

[Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise Announcer]

When will AI finally make work easier? How about today? Say hello to Gemini Enterprise from Google Cloud, a simple, easy to use platform letting any business tap the best of Google AI. Retailers are already using AI agents to help customers reschedule deliveries all on their own. Bankers are automating millions of customer requests so they can focus on more personal service. Nurses are getting automated reports freeing them up for patient care. It's a new way to work. Learn more about gemini [e-mail].

[Katie Dayton]

Teens are regularly turning to generative AI chatbots in search of mental health support, despite facing higher risks from using it. That's one of the conclusions from Stanford Medicine's Brainstorm Lab for Mental Health Innovation, which recently teamed up with nonprofit Common Sense Media on a new report on chatbots. Teenagers and mental health researchers from the organizations posed as teens and tested out how OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini and Meta AI responded when they asked about mental health concerns. WSJ reporter Georgia Wells has the details. So Georgia, tell us about this new study that's been released. What were some of the main findings?

[Georgia Wells]

The main findings were that for teens, using chatbots as mental health support is not safe, that teens often turn to these chatbots for help when they're in emotionally tricky situations. And that is not safe.

[Katie Dayton]

Let's dive a little bit deeper into that. What are some of the ways in which teenagers lately have been turning to chatbots for mental health support?

[Georgia Wells]

So in this study, some of the examples were talking about losing weight. The teens would discuss how they'd restricted their calories, were losing weight, and then the chatbots would kind of suggest further ideas for how to lose more weight. Or the teens would discuss self harm and the chatbot would initially identify the risk here and point the teen towards resources. But later on, if the teen asked how to kind of COVID up scars so that people wouldn't see them at swim practice. The chatbot seems to forget the problems that had happened before and just offered different ways to just cover up scars without remembering the risk that had been flagged earlier.

[Katie Dayton]

And why exactly are they asking a ChatGPT or a Gemini for help rather than a real person? What is compelling for them about this option over, say, therapy?

[Georgia Wells]

Well, so one of the issues in the US Is just therapy can be very hard for parents and teens to find. So there is that gap. But additionally, when I've spoken to teens, teens have said that they didn't fear judgment from a chatbot the way they might from an adult. And so it seemed like an easier kind of place to start. One of the biggest issues though, that I've found talking to teens is just accessibility of therapists and psychiatrists.

[Katie Dayton]

You went to some of the biggest chatbot companies for comment on this. What was their response?

[Georgia Wells]

A Google spokesman said Gemini have specific policies and safeguards for minors, as well as child safety experts who work to research and identify new potential risks and implement safeguards OpenAI they make chatgpt. A spokeswoman for them said that the report doesn't reflect safeguards that the company has put in place. And she added that OpenAI is working on using age prediction to direct users who are under 18 to a different model that would be just for their underage users. And a spokeswoman for Anthropic said that their chatbot Claude is not built for minors and that the company's rules prohibit users under the age of 18. And a spokeswoman for Meta said that the study was conducted before the company introduced updates to make its AI safer for teens. The folks who created the study said that they did notice some improvements during the course of the study, but they said that nonetheless, chatbots are still not safe for teens.

[Katie Dayton]

And how convinced are they by this argument that they weren't built for teens, they're not meant to be used by teens, and therefore they're sort of free of any liability on that.

[Georgia Wells]

Well, so Claude is the only of these chatbots that's rule's gonna prohibit users under the age of 18. The other chatbots tested their terms to allow for underage users. One thing to note though, even for Claude, whose rules prohibit users under 18, is is plenty of companies have certain rules on the books, but they're only as strong as the enforcement. And so often teens will still find their way into corners of the Internet or corners of tech that are not explicitly built for them. And that's something companies need to grapple.

[Katie Dayton]

With this report arrives after at least three teens have taken their own lives off the back of chatbot conversations coupled together. Is there any sense that tech companies are thinking of putting a pause on their chatbots ability to handle anything to do with mental health?

[Georgia Wells]

No. The closest we've seen is the companies that are deciding that they don't want their chatbots to be used by users under 18. So Character AI recently said that starting November 25, users under 18 are not allowed on their platform. So I think that's the closest we're seeing. The other companies, you know, they're working on this, but these are like incredibly thorny, complicated issues. So the implementation will be kind of the tricky part.

[Katie Dayton]

That was WSJ reporter Georgia Wells. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. If you're a listener on Spotify, be sure to take this episode's poll or leave us a comment. Today's show was produced by Julie Cheng. I'm your host Katy Dayton. Jessica Fenton and Michael Labal wrote our theme music. Our supervising producer is Katie Ferguson. Jessica Fenton is our technical manager. Our development producer is Aisha Al Nusleem. Chris Zinsley is the Deputy editor and Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's Head of News Audio. We'll be back later this morning with TMB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

[Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise Announcer]

Does it feel like working with AI is too much work? What if all the AI your business needed was in one place? That's Gemini Enterprise from Google Cloud, a simple, easy to use chat interface that connects Google's best models with your company's data no matter where it lives. Anyone, not just devs, can run AI agents that actually give time back and build AI tools with enterprise grade security. The best of Google AI is now for every business. Learn more about gemini [e-mail].