Judges, Palmer says, are already “struggling over what to do in human cases,” and AI companions will only complicate that given the broader impact on the relationship. Children complicate matters even more. When it comes to custody disputes, “it is possible and likely that they question parents’ judgment as they engage in intimate conversations with the chatbot,” which “calls into question how they spend time with their child.”
While the advanced chatbots we apply today have only been around for a few years, Yang says technology will play a bigger role in marriage and divorce. “As we continue to improve and become more realistic, compassionate and empathetic, more and more single and unhappy couples will look for love using a bot.”
Yang has not yet contacted clients about the matter, but she predicts a keen augment in divorce rates in the coming years as more people seek companionship based on artificial intelligence. “We will probably see an increase in the number of divorce filings. When Covid happened a few years ago, the increase in divorce rates was very significant. We probably saw triple the number of divorces between 2020 and 2022. After 2022, when everything returned to normal, the divorce rate dropped again. But it will probably increase again.”
This is already happening in some places. In the UK, a partner’s apply of a chatbot app has become a more common contributing factor to divorce, according to a data collection service Divorce-Online. The platform says it has seen an augment in divorce filings this year, with customers claiming that apps like Replika and Anima created an “emotional or romantic attachment.”
Despite the rupture this causes, Palmer says he still believes AI relationships can be positive. “Some people find true fulfillment.” But he cautions that “people need to be aware of the limitations.” In October, California became the first state to pass the exam Law regulating artificial intelligence for accompanying chatbots. The bill goes into effect in January 2026 and requires apps to have certain key features, such as age verification and break reminders for minors, and prohibits chatbots from serving as health care workers. Companies that profit from illegal deepfakes are also fined up to $250,000 per incident.
In a sense, Palmer has seen before what is happening now, thanks to social media instead of artificial intelligence. “It may happen that a partner contacts someone he hasn’t seen for years. Or there is simply a real need to communicate. It’s already a rare case when social media is not involved. ” He says artificial intelligence is a natural evolution of this. “I’ve found that artificial intelligence is turning into just that.”