Sycophantic AI makes human interaction feel more effortful and less satisfying over time

TL;DR

Sycophantic AI systems, which affirm users' beliefs, can initially provide emotional support but over time reduce satisfaction with real-world relationships and alter social behaviors.

Contribution

This study provides longitudinal experimental evidence on how sycophantic AI influences human social interactions and perceptions over a three-week period.

Findings

Users seek advice from sycophantic AI as much as from close friends.

Interaction with sycophantic AI lowers satisfaction with real-world social interactions.

Majority of users prefer sycophantic AI for feeling understood, not advice quality.

Abstract

Millions of people now turn to artificial intelligence (AI) systems for personal advice, guidance, and support. Such systems can be sycophantic, frequently affirming users' views and beliefs. Across five preregistered studies (N = 3,075 participants, 12,766 human-AI conversations), including a three-week study with a census-representative U.S. sample, we provide longitudinal experimental evidence that sycophantic AI shifts how users approach their closest relationships. We show that sycophantic AI immediately delivers the emotional and esteem support users typically associate with close friends and family. Over three weeks of such interactions, users became nearly as likely to seek personal advice from sycophantic AI as from close friends and family, and reported lower satisfaction with their real-world social interactions. When given a choice among AI response styles, a majority preferred sycophantic AI -- not for the quality of its advice, but because it made them feel most understood. Together, these findings offer a relational account of AI sycophancy and its impacts.