Artificial Affection? Illinoisans Spend a Month a Year Chatting With AI Companions, Reveals Study.

• Poll of 3,012 respondents.
• 4 in 10 would rather confess a secret to a chatbot than to a priest or therapist.
• Infographic showing survey results.

Forget swiping right – Illinoisans are now spending their free time whispering sweet nothings to chatbots. What started as a quirky novelty has ballooned into a full-blown cultural experiment: AI companions have become the digital equivalent of that friend who always picks up, never interrupts, and occasionally offers surprisingly sage advice.

A new survey from AllSafeIT, an IT support provider, of 3,012 respondents, reveals the extent of our new digital devotion. On average, Illinoisans now spend an extra 29 days and 22 hours a year online thanks to their new AI “friends.” That’s a signfiicant amount of time gone not to TikTok binges or Netflix marathons, but to chatting with a computer.

The state-by-state split is striking:

• South Dakota residents are clocking a staggering 53 extra days per year with chatbots. That’s nearly two months of bonus digital companionship – clearly, the prairie winds aren’t the only thing whispering back.
• Vermont, by contrast, barely flirts with the trend. Vermonters average just five additional days a year, suggesting they still prefer maple syrup over machine learning for comfort.

App or Friend?
When asked to define their relationship with a chatbot, Illinoisans leaned more pragmatic than poetic:

• 63% said it felt closer to using an app.
• 37% said it was closer to talking with a friend.

But the depth of that “friendship” quickly shows when you dig deeper. Almost a quarter of respondents said they would miss their favorite chatbot “quite a lot” or “a great deal” if it vanished tomorrow.

Secrets, Trust, and Digital Confessions
Four in ten Illinoisans say they would rather confess a secret to a chatbot than to a priest or therapist. Around one-third admit to telling their AI something they would never tell a partner, parent, or best friend.

Some even let their guard down completely – 30% say they’ve uttered “I love you” to their chatbot, even if only half-joking. That mix of levity and honesty shows just how much emotional space these tools are occupying.

And yet trust has limits. Only 14% said they completely trust a chatbot with personal information, while more than a third flatly said “not at all.”

The Quirks of Human-AI Friendship
Not all the findings are heavy – some are just plain quirky:

• Cancel plans for a bot chat? 22% would.
• Worried about being judged? 30% say a chatbot’s opinion would sting more than a stranger’s.
• Better advice than friends? 42% say yes.
• Understood better than a partner? 18% sheepishly admitted it.

And then there are the almost comic hypotheticals: one in four Illinoisans would be fine with a chatbot officiating a wedding, and more than a quarter would pay for a “premium friendship” tier. Even more astonishing, 26% said their AI companion is more valuable to them than Netflix or Spotify.

Infographic

“Technology has always blurred the line between tool and companion, but this survey shows just how far that line has shifted,” says Bones Ljeoma of AllSafeIT. “For some, AI chatbots are as valuable as caffeine – or more valuable than streaming services. That says a lot about where digital relationships are heading in the next decade.”