Researchers behind the rchatgpt-pulse project analyzed 137,154 r/ChatGPT posts spanning December 2022 to November 2025 and found that emotional dependence on the chatbot—users seeking psychological support and forming attachments—began rising almost immediately after GPT-4o launched. Their PuLSE monitoring system could have detected the trend months before it entered public discourse. For GPT-5, emotional engagement appeared in at least 30.5% of complaints about the model, sharply diverging from OpenAI’s own estimate of 1.9%, which the authors argue shows usage frequency alone masks the true scale of impact. OpenAI’s GPT-4o system card had already flagged risks of anthropomorphization and emotional dependency, and Sam Altman later confirmed the company has been tracking mental-health-related use for roughly a year.

From Tool to Companion: Analyzing Emotional Attachment in r/ChatGPT over 3 Years — rchatgpt-pulse live dashboard