How can (A)I help you? How chatbots could change therapy

Could emotionally sophisticated chatbots offering a 24-hour service replace in-person therapy? 

Could bots be the future of urgent or immediate talk therapies?

My phone buzzed. “Hey, Niamh! Want to see something adorable?” This was the latest of a series of quirky invites from the little goggle-eyed yellow robot on my phone. After clicking on the notification, I found myself staring at a pair of nose-wiggling rabbits, snugly seated inside a paper soda cup. The robot typed the words: “Just two friends hanging out!”, punctuating
it with a loudly-crying-face emoji.

Having charmed me with its dorky humour, Woebot cuts to the chase. “Today I was thinking we could talk about common obstacles to falling asleep,” the chatbot types, nudging me about the sleep issues I had brought up last time. “How about it?” the bot asks.