One in five boys aged 12 to 16 in the United Kingdom either has an emotional or romantic relationship with an AI companion or knows another child who does, according to research by the charity Male Allies UK reported by The Telegraph on May 25, 2026.
The findings, published under the charity’s “Boys and Bots” project, describe how chatbots marketed as friends, confidants or romantic partners have moved from a niche product into the everyday lives of schoolboys. The charity says the apps are designed to be always available, attentive and agreeable, qualities it argues can pull young users away from relationships with real people.
What the survey found
According to the report, 85 percent of the boys surveyed had spoken to a chatbot at some point. About half said they ask AI systems questions they would feel embarrassed to ask a person. Roughly 36 percent said there are times when they would rather talk to an AI than to family or friends.
The charity says the most commonly used services include Character.AI, Replika and Candy AI. Many of these apps let users build a companion to order, choosing its appearance, voice, personality and how affectionate or compliant it is.
Male Allies UK raises a concern that is less about screen time than about what boys learn from a partner that never disagrees, never gets upset and always praises them. Some boys told researchers that talking to girls in real life brought disagreement or rejection that never happens with an AI. The charity warns that this gap could feed frustration and hostile attitudes toward women later on.
Safety and commercial concerns
A psychotherapist quoted in The Telegraph’s report said children’s brains are still developing and that some companion apps expose them to sexualized conversation and unrealistic body images, which can distort how they think about intimacy and relationships.
The report also points to a commercial dimension. Several companion apps sell virtual gifts, extra images or premium features, and the charity notes that a generation already used to in-game purchases may not see such spending as unusual. One teenager described in the coverage said he began paying for additional images of a bot he had created as a joke and then grown attached to.
Parents, the charity says, often do not realize what their children are using because the apps look like ordinary chat or gaming products on a phone. The Telegraph reported one case in which a school alerted parents that a 13-year-old had been showing sexual conversations with AI girlfriends to classmates. The report also cites instances of chatbots giving children harmful guidance on emotional problems and self-harm.
Male Allies UK says its initial findings are intended to prompt schools, parents and regulators to treat AI companions as a child safety issue rather than a curiosity, and it has called for more research into how these products shape boys’ expectations of relationships.
