AI seems to be infiltrating every part of our lives these days and now it’s coming for your relationship.

But in a good way!

As it turns out, AI can be the patient and empathetic listener you might be missing in your life.

I first heard about this trick from Marianne van Dijk of Cup of Empathy, who trained ChatGPT to basically function like a therapist.

My partner Sunaina and I have been testing the same idea with Meta AI over the last week and we’ve been pleasantly surprised!

I talked to it about an emotional conversation I was expecting to have soon and it offered surprisingly insightful guesses about what I’m feeling and why this conversation seems so intimidating.

It obviously isn’t a substitute for speaking with a real therapist or trained professional like me :) but this could be a handy tool if you’re struggling to get in touch with your own feelings or make sense of a difficult situation with your partner or a loved one and you’re not sure who you can talk to.

There are some limitations and caveats to using AI for emotional support: For one, anything you share will likely not be completely private. So don’t share anything that you don’t mind Meta or other companies knowing about you.

Also, while Meta AI did a reasonable job of guessing my feelings and needs, it also suggested advice that I would NOT recommend.

For example, it suggested sharing how I felt by using an “I” statement such as “I feel suffocated when you…”

That would not go over well!

So take everything AI says (especially any advice) with a grain of salt.

If you’d like to try out an AI listener buddy, you can access Meta AI on Facebook Messenger (click on the weird blue circle icon) or click here to access it on the web.

Enter the prompt: “Please listen to me using NVC” and share what’s on your mind.

(NVC stands for Nonviolent Communication, which is the foundation for a lot of what I teach about relationships).

If you end up trying it out, leave a comment to tell me how it goes.

-Matt