Adesh Nayak's initial request to edit an email led to a situation that developed into something more important. Nayak used multiple tools, including Claude.ai, Gemini, Perplexity AI, and ChatGPT, after five months of using ChatGPT to decide whether to relocate to the UAE.
The chatbots estimated a success “70–75% chance” for his relocation after he spent several hours testing different user personas. His experience shows how artificial intelligence has become essential to the daily life of residents in the United Arab Emirates.
Nayak now turns to AI chatbots for nearly every problem. “I have actually outsourced my cognitive thinking and reasoning,” he says, acknowledging that his dependence has affected how he makes decisions.
He estimates his productivity would fall by 50% without AI and says his anxiety has eased as a result. Conversations with friends and family have reduced by “70 to 80%,” as AI feels more accessible and “free from personal bias,” reshaping how he seeks guidance and reassurance.
Nayak also stopped therapy, claiming “the quality of AI was better than that of the therapist’s.” Psychologist Nathalie El Asmar, from the German Neuroscience Center, has seen similar patterns. She recalls a patient who replaced therapy with daily chatbot conversations, describing it as “always there” and calming.
Over time, however, her anxiety worsened, sleep declined, and isolation increased. “The most serious consequence,” El Asmar says, “was that it unintentionally replaced the therapeutic process itself.”
People experience different levels of intensity across their various life experiences. Rahul, an Abu Dhabi-based project manager, uses ChatGPT UAE mainly for work, planning, and occasional companionship during lonely hours. He prefers newer models for their naturalness, yet he thinks their excessive friendliness prevents him from getting the intense truth he sometimes requires.
Dr Valentina Faia, medical director at BPS Clinic, warns that AI mental health support carries ethical risks, especially for teenagers. “Teenagers are resorting to AI for companionship,” she says, adding that while AI can help with training and administration, “we don’t have the ethical foundation to use AI for therapeutic purposes” yet.