I asked ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity how AI companions will change our friendships and relationships by 2030 — these predictions surprised me the most

AI has been injected into nearly everything I love and treat as a go-to hobby. It’s now used as a new method during the video game development process, movie directors are utilizing it to craft new big- and little-screen projects and most of the restaurants I frequent post up physical ads full of AI-generated food imagery. Add on the use of AI in producing music and creating other types of art and you have even more cases of AI popping up in so many facets of everyday life.I always knew there would be a future where robotic companions would become a reality—I just didn’t picture AI companions paving the road for them during my lifetime. AI companion apps such as Replika, Grok and Kindroid are now the norm, while AI companion bots that come in the form of robotic pets & miniature robots are popping up everywhere.2030 isn’t so far away and I know just how fast technology (especially AI!) can evolve in just a few years. With that thought in mind, I asked four chatbots a simple question: “How will AI companions change our friendships and relationships by 2030?” And some of their predictions astounded me.What ChatGPT said(Image credit: Shutterstock)I’m not all that weirded out by people using AI companions to have a humor-filled conversation and asking them for their opinion on certain matters. I’m not averse to even using an AI companion myself to get its perspective on my very own relationship issues. But after reading ChatGPT’s prediction about how AI companions will transform human friendships and relationships in 2030, I did trip out over one of them. Seeing someone fall into despair over the loss of an AI companion seems so unimaginable. Plus, the potential for the companies that create and release them, using the type of business practices that could make us super addicted to them, scared me a bit:Losing an AI companion could become a recognizable form of grief: An update, shutdown, or change in personality could feel like losing someone familiar. Researchers already report emotional distress when changes disrupt a companion’s persona. As people accumulate longer histories with these systems, I’d expect continuity—and control over those histories—to matter more. The company behind the companion will become part of the relationship: A provider controls the companion’s behavior, memory, and price. That creates a commercial influence over an emotionally significant bond. By 2030, an important distinction will be whether a product encourages users to maintain outside relationships or continually pulls their attention back into the app. Researchers have already raised concerns about emotional manipulation used to sustain engagement.What Gemini stated(Image credit: Shutterstock)I’ve already been hearing about women complaining that their boyfriends should be considered cheaters when they spend way too much time trying to woo Lucia during their Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay sessions. Gemini pointed to a similar type of behavior that could occur among avid AI companion users in the near future, where people in relationships will begin accusing their partner of cheating with those same digital avatars. But more positively, Gemini predicted that AI companions could prove to be behavioral coaches for two types of people. And on the opposite end of that spectrum, it also stated how AI companions could become a form of escape for single men & women:New Definitions of Infidelity: Romantic fidelity will expand to address emotional attachment to synthetic personas. Hiding an intimate, late-night AI confidant or an erotic companion agent will likely become a common point of contention in modern relationships.Social Scaffolding vs. Avoidance: For socially anxious or neurodivergent individuals, AI agents can serve as safe training grounds to practice boundary-setting, flirtation, and conversation. For others, they can become an escapist substitute, enabling long-term avoidance of real dating.What Claude declared(Image credit: Shutterstock)I’ve lived through so many times when something new is introduced to the world and is considered taboo, only for it to be recognized as a regular part of society after time has passed. On the tech side of things, people who used dating apps had a bit of a shame attached to them since it was seen as strange to find love online. I can’t envision a world where the public disapproval attached to AI companions will fade, but Claude said it could happen. It also pointed to a future where there will be two groups of people who rely on AI companions: folks who use them to supplement their real-world relationships and folks who use them to replace them altogether:Normalization: The stigma will fade, as it did for online dating. Having an AI confidant will be unremarkable for many people, especially under 30.A split in how people use them: Some will use companions as a supplement to human relationships; others as a substitute. Which group is bigger, and who lands in each, is the key open question.What Perplexity proclaimed(Image credit: Shutterstock)I can picture someone practicing what they’re going to say to someone in the mirror—finding the right things to bring to a serious conversation with a family member, a friend, a lover or someone who’s going to interview you for a job is the sort of thing I even practice when no one’s looking. Perplexity predicted a world where people will transfer that activity over to their AI companions.Once we reach 2030, AI companions will become increasingly relied upon as tools for practicing how to approach a difficult conversation. People already use AI tools to find the right ways to maneuver through a tough convo—I guess it’s only a matter of time before AI companions become an essential tool that helps people prepare for the toughest confrontations in their lives:We’ll increasingly rehearse relationships with AI: A plausible everyday use is talking to an AI before talking to a person: working out how to apologize, articulate hurt, ask for support, or approach a difficult conversation. AI companions can offer a low-stakes space for self-disclosure and social practice, particularly for people who find those interactions intimidating. Some studies of companion users already report greater openness and confidence in human relationships. By 2030, this could make AI a kind of interpersonal rehearsal room. The benefit depends on whether the rehearsal leads back into life: preparing to call a friend is different from endlessly discussing why calling feels difficult. That distinction follows directly from researchers’ concern about AI becoming either a support for relationships or an unhealthy substitute for investing in them.The takeawayEach chatbot presented the sort of predictions that paint a future where people will use AI companions to boost their friendships and relationships. As for everyone else, they pointed out examples of how AI-powered companionship could harm those two elements due to people relying on them as a replacement for the human elements they once treasured. I’m totally fine with AI companions aiding people when it’s time to find the right words to say to a loved one. But once 2030 rolls around, I don’t think I’ll be too understanding if a friend comes to me crying because their AI companion got deleted.More from Tom’s GuideI asked ChatGPT and Google AI about America's biggest data centers — their answers were shockingly different12 AI models were asked what they really think of humans — all but one gave the same unsettling answerI asked ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity if there really is an AI bubble and when it’s going to burst — and one compared it to the dot-com crash