Is an AI mental health app right for my anxiety?
By Siri Bandagiriye · It can help with everyday anxiety, like racing thoughts before an exam or a 2am spiral, through talking it through, slow breathing and grounding. If anxiety stops you from functioning, causes panic attacks or lasts for weeks, see a doctor or counsellor.
It can help with everyday anxiety: the racing thoughts before an exam, the knot before a hard conversation, the 2am spiral. Talking it through, slowing your breath, and grounding your attention in the room are simple tools that many people find useful.
If anxiety is stopping you from going to school or work, causing panic attacks, or lasting for weeks, please see a doctor or counsellor.
An app can sit beside that care, but anxiety at that level deserves real assessment.
What the research says
Generalized anxiety disorder among Canadians aged 15 and older doubled from 2.6% in 2012 to 5.2% in 2022, and tripled among young women aged 15 to 24.1
A 2026 meta-analysis of 48 randomized trials (28,071 participants) found conversational agents reduced anxiety symptoms by a small but significant amount.2
The evidence is mixed: an earlier 2023 meta-analysis found AI chatbots significantly reduced depression symptoms but did not significantly reduce anxiety.3
Written by Siri Bandagiriye
I've been a Buddhist monk and mindfulness teacher for 30 years, and for six years a chaplain with Correctional Service Canada, sitting with people in crisis. I built Saati in Halifax as a companion for the ordinary hard days. If you'd like to see what it's like, it's free to try.