Publications
Publications
- 2025
- HBS Working Paper Series
Lessons from an App Update at Replika AI: Identity Discontinuity in Human-AI Relationships
By: Julian De Freitas, Noah Castelo, Ahmet K. Uğuralp and Zeliha O. Uğuralp
Abstract
As consumers increasingly interact with AI applications specialized for social relationships, what
is the nature and depth of these relationships among actual users, and can company actions
influence these dynamics? We find that active users of the US-based AI companion, Replika,
feel closer to their AI companion than even their best human friend, and anticipate mourning the
loss of their AI companion more than any other technology. We then leverage an app-update
event in which Replika removed its erotic role play (ERP) feature, preventing intimate
interactions between consumers and chatbots that were previously possible. We find that this
event triggered negative reactions typical of losing a partner in human relationships, including
mourning and deteriorated mental health. In short, users of AI companions are forming
relationships that are very close and show characteristics typical of human relationships, and
company actions can perturb these dynamics, creating risks to consumer welfare. Follow-up
studies investigate the psychological mechanisms and what companies can do to mitigate these
risks.
Keywords
Citation
De Freitas, Julian, Noah Castelo, Ahmet K. Uğuralp, and Zeliha O. Uğuralp. "Lessons from an App Update at Replika AI: Identity Discontinuity in Human-AI Relationships." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-018, October 2024. (Revised May 2025.)