Rise of Conversational AI Apps Creates a New Market: The Companionship Economy

Rise of conversational AI apps opens a new market: the companionship economy. This is a space where emotions, listening, and connection increasingly become a value that can be priced and commercialized. The surge of AI companionship is not a coincidence but reflects a social reality: loneliness is spreading. A YouGov survey in 2025 shows that 39% of adults frequently experience this feeling, rising to 49% among Gen Z. Notably, 28% of respondents said they had shared personal feelings with a chatbot at least once, signaling that AI has begun to intrude into intimate spaces of mental life. AI is no longer a temporary substitute but is gradually competing with traditional social relationships. From interaction to product: Sociologist Sherry Turkle warned: 'Technology promises connection, but can leave us feeling lonelier.' In this context, conversational AI apps have appeared as a 'fast escape', always ready to listen, non-judgmental, and unobtrusive, meeting the gaps many people carry in modern life. From social need, a completely new market has formed. Grand View Research reports that the AI companion market reached $28.19 billion in 2024 and could grow at 30.8% per year, reaching over $140 billion by 2030. The drivers behind this growth include that current AI systems are designed for long-form conversations, remember personal information, simulate emotions, and build 'personality.' Platforms such as Replika, Character.AI, and Microsoft Xiaoice have pioneered this model; users can maintain an ongoing companionship, even name it, build chat histories, and feel attachment over time. Character.AI is widely used for interacting with AI characters. This deep personalization is driving a notable change in consumer behavior: users are willing to pay recurring fees not only to 'unlock features' but to maintain an emotionally stable and private experience. Consequently, the boundary between tool and relationship blurs, and consumer behavior shifts from buying a product to 'renting' an emotionally engaging experience. Boundary between support and replacement: A prominent debate around AI-Bestie concerns their ability to replace or augment traditional mental health counseling. With 24/7 availability, low cost, and non-judgment, AI is becoming a temporary substitute for some users in mild mental distress. However, psychology professionals view this boundary cautiously. Psychotherapy is not only about listening; it also involves diagnosis, clinical intervention, and monitoring progress—these require professional responsibility and medical ethics. AI, though increasingly sophisticated, lacks the framework for legal accountability and the ability to understand the complex life context of individuals. This places AI in an intermediate position: both a potential supportive tool and a risk if it replaces the wrong role. Dr. John Torous, psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, emphasizes that 'AI can expand access to mental health care but cannot replace clinical judgment and the ethical responsibilities of humans in therapy.' Moreover, the development of 'AI-Bestie' raises broader questions about data ethics. What happens when a person’s most intimate emotions become data input for commercial systems? According to YouGov, 65% of users express concern about privacy when using companion AI apps. This isn’t just a perception; every conversation could be stored, analyzed for behavior, and used to optimize interaction models, meaning personal emotions can indirectly become data used to monetize user experiences. In Vietnam, Google’s e-Conomy SEA 2025 report shows the country is among the fastest adopters of AI in the region. About 78% of internet users have used AI tools, and more than 30% use them daily. This reality shows AI is no longer experimental technology but has entered a phase of 'normalization' in the digital lives of Vietnamese users, especially younger urban dwellers. Businesses are deploying AI across customer care, education, and virtual assistants, laying the groundwork for deeper AI-enabled applications in the future. At the same time, national AI strategies through 2030 identify AI as a core technology, emphasizing innovation alongside risk control. In some scientific forums and technology conferences organized by government agencies, topics such as AI ethics, data privacy, and the social impact of AI have begun to be discussed, though 'emotional companionship AI' in Vietnam has not yet been regulated as a distinct field.