Generative artificial intelligence is increasingly being used for emotional support, self-reflection,
reassurance and behaviour change, including by people navigating addiction and recovery. As
conversational AI becomes more relational in tone and continuously available, its role may extend
beyond information-seeking into coping, attachment and emotional regulation. This critical narrative
review examines emerging research on human–AI attachment, emotional reliance, reassurance-seeking
and avoidance, alongside developing applications of generative AI within substance use and recovery
contexts. Particular attention is given to the ways AI may support reflection, preparation for difficult
conversations, recovery-oriented problem solving and access to immediate support, while also potentially
reinforcing avoidance, compulsive reassurance-seeking or displacement of human relationships and
professional care. The review considers these tensions through an attachment- and recovery-informed
lens and highlights the importance of understanding not only what people use generative AI for, but the
psychological function that the interaction serves. Current evidence remains early and heterogeneous,
limiting firm conclusions about clinical benefit or harm. However, the growing integration of AI into
everyday coping suggests that clinicians will increasingly encounter clients whose relationships with
generative systems form part of their emotional and recovery environments. Clinical assessment, ethical
guidance and future research should therefore consider patterns of use, relational reliance and the
circumstances in which AI supports, complicates or substitutes for existing coping and connection.
10.33425/2833-5449.0023
Published: 21 Aug, 2026