Original Investigation

Generative AI Use and Depressive Symptoms Among US Adults

JAMA Network Open 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.54820

January 21, 2026 at 11:00 AM EST

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Are greater levels of generative artificial intelligence (AI) use by US adults associated with greater levels of depressive symptoms?In this survey study of 20 847 US adults, 10.3% reported daily use of generative AI, including 5.3% who used it multiple times per day. Greater levels of AI use were associated with modest increases in depressive symptoms, with odds of at least moderate depression 30% greater among those with daily use, particularly among younger users.These findings suggest there is a need to understand the nature and mechanism of this association and its heterogeneity across age-defined subgroups.

Corresponding Author: Roy H. Perlis, MD, MSc, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge St, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02114 (rperlis@mgb.org).

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