Generational Differences in Social Appraisals of AI Companion Use

As artificial intelligence (AI) companion use grows worldwide, understanding who is most vulnerable to associated harms requires identifying the social-cognitive orientations users bring to AI companions. In a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults (N = 1,028), we found surprising generational differences in two theoretically distinct social appraisals of AI companion use: stigma toward users, and infidelity appraisals of AI companion use within committed relationships. Participants—spanning Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z—were randomly assigned to rate a target person who maintained an AI companion, described as either a romantic partner or a close friend. Overall, whereas Millennials reported the least stigma toward AI companion users, they also more strongly endorsed the notion that maintaining an AI companion while having a committed human-human relationship was cheating; by contrast, Boomers reported the greatest stigma toward AI companion users yet were least likely to appraise their use as cheating. These patterns are consistent with a perceived ontological status account: Millennials appear to incorporate AI companions into an existing normative framework for human relationships, rendering AI companions simultaneously less stigmatized and more relationally consequential. Implications for risk profiling and the regulation of AI companion platforms are discussed.