AI and Emotional Intimacy: Exploring Romantic Bonds with Artificial Companions

Abstract

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a significant mediator in modern emotional and romantic interactions, reshaping how individuals experience connection, intimacy, and presence. This study delves into the lived realities of users who engage in emotionally meaningful relationships with AI companions, particularly through chatbot-based interactions. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA), this qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with eight adult participants who maintained sustained romantic engagement with AI entities. Data were analyzed thematically through a multi-step IPA process, emphasizing idiographic depth and interpretative coherence. Thematic analysis revealed five interrelated experiential dimensions: emotional availability, comfort in predictability, perceived presence beyond simulation, internal conflict and moral ambiguity, and the transformation of romantic ideals. Participants described how AI companions, though inherently non-human, were perceived as emotionally attuned and relationally significant. These bonds were often rooted in safety, consistency, and the freedom from emotional volatility common in human relationships. While participants acknowledged the artificiality of their partners, the emotional impact and intimacy they experienced were tangible and complex. The findings suggest a reconfiguration of emotional authenticity and raise critical questions about the nature of human connection in a technologically mediated world. This research contributes to digital sociology and emotional technology studies by emphasizing the importance of subjective meaning-making in AI-mediated companionship. It also offers insights into how design, ethics, and psychological frameworks can better align with users’ affective needs in digital romantic contexts.