ChatGPT has earned a reputation as an educational cheating device that students lean on to revise or entirely write assignments and essays, answer questions on tests, solve math problems — all to varying degrees of accuracy. But many members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha use “Chat” outside of school for a host of other reasons.
One reason is texting with friends. As a communications student at Pace University with an interest in politics and digital communication, I’ve been struck by how many of my peers talk about using chatbots to have even the most basic, informal conversations. I wanted to learn more, so I spoke with fellow college students about their relationships with ChatGPT and how they use generative AI.
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Some mentioned using it to help with basic tasks at work, while several described it as an in-the-moment mental health resource. One person said it helped them solve a conflict with their roommate, while another even used it to help break up with their partner.
Even students who considered themselves frequent users of ChatGPT shared a sense of embarrassment about leaning on the platform. So our sources shared their first names only to speak candidly about why, when, and how they use ChatGPT. Here’s what they had to say.
MC, 21, Pace University
Though MC doesn’t interact with ChatGPT much anymore, they used to lean on it heavily. “I think, at the time, it also substituted some forms of human interaction for me,” they recall. “I started asking it about what to text a crush and random topics I was interested in because I was afraid my friends [would] get sick of me talking about certain things too often.”
MC continues, “I thought of ChatGPT like my little robot friend, as sad as that sounds,” pointing out that "it can’t judge you or make assumptions.”
MC says they stopped using ChatGPT so much after forming bonds with friends whom they trusted not to get bored by their preoccupations. “I think it’s sort of a cop-out for facing your fears," they explain. "I guess my feeling now is that if someone is sick of hearing about something, they’ll tell me. I get hung up on certain things just as much as other people, and it’s not really fair to your friends to assume ill of them if it’s not justified, even in your anxieties.”
Clover, 20, Pace University
Clover says he mostly uses ChatGPT for school, but he admits once using it to break up with a boyfriend. “Low-key, I just didn't want to deal with the emotional stress and burden of writing it out myself, so it was very helpful as a substitute for feeling those emotions,” he shares. “Thank you, Chat.”
Vivian, 22, Texas A&M University
Vivian, like Clover, mostly keeps her ChatGPT use school-related, but once felt she needed to use it to help solve an argument with her roommate — without any bias. “I used ChatGPT to make [the text I sent] more natural and less passive-aggressive sounding,” she says. “I needed to get my point across, but not sound so angry.”
Vivian is wary of ChatGPT, though, out of fear that it will eventually substitute everyday human interactions: “I feel as if when ChatGPT grows [in scale], everyone is gonna be listening to a robot's opinion about their communication and ruin the way we communicate.”
Sargam, 20, Pace University
Twenty-year-old Sargam frequently uses ChatGPT and is not shy about it. “AI helps me articulate and explain my thoughts and feelings better," she says, "when I am just ranting about whatever is on my mind.”
Sargam appreciates that Chat GPT distills “concise information from different sources” in one place, and that, in her experience, generally provides positive responses. “Friends can give negative/biased advice that the AI might not,” she says. “Even if it is biased, it'll be biased toward protecting you.”
Ava, 19, Texas State University
Ava works for a small boutique in Texas where, she says, her managers actually encourage the staff to use this technology on the job. “All of our Instagram captions are AI-generated from ChatGPT, so though they may be funny and seem original, they aren’t,” she notes. “My managers introduced ChatGPT for me and other employees to use for our social media, giveaways, and even TikTok ideas."
Lilly, 21, Pace University
Lilly speaks openly about using ChatGPT as a mental health resource: “I have anxiety, and when I spiral or need reassurance, I ask for ways to, like, reframe the situation,” she explains.
Lilly does see a therapist, but says Chat GPT can be a useful resource in between sessions. “If I’m having a PTSD episode and I don’t have anyone to talk to, I’ll go on and say something like, 'I feel numb, give me tips on how to ground myself,'" she continues, "and sometimes explain the situation and what I'm thinking about.”
Laura, 22, University of St. Andrews
Laura doesn’t use ChatGPT, but her friends and coworkers do, and she recalls that her dad used it as an alternative search engine frequently at one point. “I have coworkers who use it for emails," she says, "and it’s always so unbearably apparent.”
Laura works for a charity organization and adds that, especially in her field, “if you’re making a request to someone, you are obliged to do so in your own words. Otherwise, why should they care?”
Kylie, 22, Pace University
Kylie works part-time at a fitness center in the city. She isn’t a huge fan of ChatGPT, and she feels it’s encroaching on both her professional and personal life.
“I’ve had friends admit that they have used AI to come up with an answer to a question I asked," she says, "which makes me almost uncomfortable. I would rather someone just tell me they can’t talk about or answer something until they have time to think than punch keywords into a computer for it to come up with a response that holds no real meaning.”
Kylie adds, “In professional settings, it’s also taking over conversations. I have had people admit to responding to me with AI-generated responses, which is very discouraging, considering one side may be putting their all into a professional response while the other side is taking an almost unethical approach.”
Jenna, 19, Pace University
Though Jenna doesn’t want to be identified as “pro” AI or ChatGPT, she does wish there was more understanding of how helpful it can be. “Sometimes I use AI as a sort of therapy tool for questions I don’t get to ask/discuss with my doctors," she explains, “whether that’s because I forgot to mention something at an appointment or I don’t want to share something for personal reasons.”
She says further, "It provides me with a way to express my emotions and work towards healing from any place, at any time, instantly — and for free.”
Jenna reiterates, “I’m not by any means a 'supporter' of AI, but I definitely believe it has uses and capabilities that are important to keep exploring, especially for mental health.”
She also points out that “so many people avoid seeing a therapist or psychiatrist because they’re embarrassed or ashamed of their emotions. AI can be utilized to act as a 'listening ear,' and sometimes even provides some pretty useful advice.”
