Prevalence and predictors of artificial intelligence chatbots use for caregiving: Evidence from the Understanding America Study
- 1Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- 2Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CaliforniaUnited States of America
- 3Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Connecticut, United States of America
Abstract
Support for the growing population of family caregivers in the United States remains a challenging public health issue. With a limited workforce to support families coping with chronic and degenerative conditions, caregivers are turning to individualized approaches to gain information and emotional support. One approach that may be gaining popularity in caregiving support is the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots. This study examined caregivers’ awareness and general use of AI chatbots, their use of AI chatbots for caregiving purposes, and variations in these outcomes by individual characteristics (e.g., the Big 5 personality traits, internet literacy, cognitive ability) and caregiving contextual factors (e.g., caregiving relationship, caregiving stress, the health condition of the care recipient). To this end, we used one of the waves of the Understanding America Study-Caregiving Lifecourse Experiences Assessed in Real-time (UAS-CLEAR), a longitudinal study of caregivers in the U.S. The sample consisted of 1,300 caregivers, with data collected between August and October 2025. We employed a cross-sectional, mixed-methods design, combining quantitative analysis of structured survey items with thematic coding of open-ended responses. Of the 487 respondents who reported being AI chatbot users, 25% used the technology for caregiving. Those who were more likely to use AI for caregiving were higher in openness, lower in internet literacy, lower in cognitive ability, helped with more caregiving tasks, and were more uncertain in their caregiving role. Over half (58%) used AI chatbots for information about caregiving, 34% for emotional support related to caregiving, and 37% reported other uses. Open-ended responses about individuals’ experiences using AI chatbots for caregiving also revealed that the most common reason for use was information seeking. In addition, caregivers found the chatbot support to be useful, while acknowledging some limitations of their use. Future research should examine perceptions of AI chatbots among non-users, the mechanisms linking individual traits to caregiving-related chatbot use, and the longitudinal effects of such use on caregiver well-being.
Related
- Predictors of Intentions to Learn and Adopt Medical Artificial Intelligence Among Healthcare Professionals in Ghana: A Descriptive Cross‐Sectional Study
- Understanding and Mitigating Bias From Artificial Intelligence in Otolaryngology: A State‐of‐the‐Art Review
- AURORA: Analysing and understanding responses to oncological regimens with artificial intelligence
- Self-reported understanding and attitudes of healthcare workers and caregivers toward artificial intelligence in pediatric healthcare in a children’s hospital in China: a cross-sectional study
- Prevalence and predictors of HIV/TB co-infection in Sub-Saharan Africa
BibTeX
@article{monin2026prevalence,
title = {{Prevalence and predictors of artificial intelligence chatbots use for caregiving: Evidence from the Understanding America Study}},
author = {Joan K. Monin and Marco Angrisani and Tate Dunbar and Angeliki Karachaliou and Kira Birditt},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0357753},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357753},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Prevalence and predictors of artificial intelligence chatbots use for caregiving: Evidence from the Understanding America Study
AU - Joan K. Monin
AU - Marco Angrisani
AU - Tate Dunbar
AU - Angeliki Karachaliou
AU - Kira Birditt
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0357753
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357753
AB - Support for the growing population of family caregivers in the United States remains a challenging public health issue. With a limited workforce to support families coping with chronic and degenerative conditions, caregivers are turning to individualized approaches to gain information and emotional support. One approach that may be gaining popularity in caregiving support is the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots. This study examined caregivers’ awareness and general use of AI chatbots, their use of AI chatbots for caregiving purposes, and variations in these outcomes by individual characteristics (e.g., the Big 5 personality traits, internet literacy, cognitive ability) and caregiving contextual factors (e.g., caregiving relationship, caregiving stress, the health condition of the care recipient). To this end, we used one of the waves of the Understanding America Study-Caregiving Lifecourse Experiences Assessed in Real-time (UAS-CLEAR), a longitudinal study of caregivers in the U.S. The sample consisted of 1,300 caregivers, with data collected between August and October 2025. We employed a cross-sectional, mixed-methods design, combining quantitative analysis of structured survey items with thematic coding of open-ended responses. Of the 487 respondents who reported being AI chatbot users, 25% used the technology for caregiving. Those who were more likely to use AI for caregiving were higher in openness, lower in internet literacy, lower in cognitive ability, helped with more caregiving tasks, and were more uncertain in their caregiving role. Over half (58%) used AI chatbots for information about caregiving, 34% for emotional support related to caregiving, and 37% reported other uses. Open-ended responses about individuals’ experiences using AI chatbots for caregiving also revealed that the most common reason for use was information seeking. In addition, caregivers found the chatbot support to be useful, while acknowledging some limitations of their use. Future research should examine perceptions of AI chatbots among non-users, the mechanisms linking individual traits to caregiving-related chatbot use, and the longitudinal effects of such use on caregiver well-being.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -