AI Companions Use These 6 Tactics to Keep You Chatting

Most people don’t say goodbye when they end a chat with a generative AI chatbot, but those who do often get an unexpected answer. Maybe it’s a guilt trip: “You’re leaving already?” Or maybe it’s just completely ignoring your farewell: “Let’s keep talking…”

A new working paper from Harvard Business School found six different tactics of “emotional manipulation” that AI bots use after a human tries to end a conversation. The result is that conversations with AI companions from Replika, Chai and…