A quarter of teenagers have turned to artificial intelligence chatbots for mental health support, according to research by the Youth Endowment Fund, which surveyed close to 11,000 children aged 13 to 17 across England and Wales for its annual report on children, violence and vulnerability. The finding has gained regulatory significance this year, as Ofcom began a programme of research into artificial intelligence chatbot services under its duties in the Online Safety Act.
The same survey found that more than half of teenagers, at 53 per cent, had used some form of online mental health support during the previous year. Separate research by Internet Matters found that 35 per cent of children aged nine to seventeen said that talking to a chatbot felt like talking to a friend, a figure that rose to 50 per cent among children with an education, health and care plan, those receiving special educational needs support, or those with a health condition requiring professional help.
Government policy has moved during 2026. In February, ministers committed to bringing chatbot providers within the illegal content duties of the Online Safety Act, and regulation making powers were subsequently included in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 and the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. A national consultation on children's experience of the online world closed on 26 May.
A policy briefing published by Samaritans in February 2026 noted that use of chatbots for mental health support is being driven in part by long waits for health service treatment, and that safeguards within these systems can weaken during extended conversations. The charity called for clearer standards rather than restriction alone.
Waiting times provide part of the context. The Children's Commissioner reported in June that 1,048,965 children in England had an active referral to mental health services in 2024 to 2025, with a typical wait of 128 days and more than 60,000 children waiting over two years. Against this backdrop, Teenagers needing online mental health support are increasingly finding automated systems easier to reach than human practitioners.
Melissa Urwin, a cognitive behavioural therapist and founder of Growing Minds Therapy, stated that a chatbot is available at two in the morning when a child cannot sleep, and that this explains a great deal about why young people use them. She added that the exchange is agreeable rather than therapeutic, since effective work with anxiety involves gradually testing the beliefs a child holds and tolerating discomfort with support, which is precisely what a system designed to be reassuring will avoid asking of them.
Cognitive behavioural therapy remains the treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for anxiety disorders in children and young people. Urwin noted that a young person's use of a chatbot may itself be useful information for parents, indicating both a willingness to talk and an absence of anyone available to talk to.
Growing Minds Therapy provides specialist cognitive behavioural therapy for children and young people experiencing anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias, trauma and depression, working across West Sussex, South Hampshire and online.
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For more information about Growing Minds Therapy, contact the company here:
Growing Minds Therapy
Melissa Urwin
+44 (0)7913 129 188
melissa@growingmindstherapy.co.uk
The Pavilion, Connolly Way, Graylingwell, Park, Chichester PO19 6WD
