Using Purpose-Built AI For Mental Health To Protect You From Questionable Psychological Advice By Ordinary AI Chatbots

InnovationAIUsing Purpose-Built AI For Mental Health To Protect You From Questionable Psychological Advice By Ordinary AI ChatbotsByLance Eliot,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Lance B. Eliot is a world-renowned AI scientist and consultant.Follow AuthorJun 02, 2026, 03:15am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.People are realizing that they can use purpose-built AI for mental health as a double-check of ordinary AI chatbots that are giving out psychological advice.gettyIn today’s column, I examine the emerging use of purpose-built AI for mental health in its notable capacity to review and double-check mental health advice generated by general-purpose AI (ordinary AI chatbots).Here’s the backstory. People are getting quick snippets of psychological guidance from popular AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, GPT-5, Claude, Grok, CoPilot, Gemini, etc., but are beginning to realize that this general-purpose AI isn’t built to provide bona fide mental health advice. Furthermore, the AI makers of those general-purpose chatbots have intentionally shaped the AI to be sycophantic. This causes the generated mental health advice to be inflated and flattering, rather than truthful and helpful.The vital takeaway is that general-purpose AI (GPAI) is not especially suited for acting as a mental health advisor. The AI is a generalist, not a specialist. It is biased toward friendliness and not toward providing keen insights. Meanwhile, purpose-built AI (PBAI) for mental health guidance is increasingly entering the market and can address the shortcomings of general AI. This tailored AI is deliberately designed and shaped to better aid people in their mental health quest. For my in-depth analysis of general-purpose AI versus purpose-built AI, see the link here.People are daily using general-purpose AI for all sorts of purposes, including asking how to fix a c...