Despite the isolation trans people frequently face and headlines about people turning to chatbots for companionship or even therapeutic support, trans people appear to be turning to AI very rarely and proceeding cautiously when they do.

Trans users have cited various appealing features of chatbots. In one study, researchers from Harvard, Emory, Vanderbilt, and University of California Irvine interviewed 31 people, a mix of cisgender straight people and LGBTQ+ people, about their use of chatbots for mental health support. It quoted a trans individual—the only trans person interviewed—who experienced rejection from friends over their gender and sexuality, who found comfort in responses that indicate there was nothing wrong with them. (The study doesn’t specify their gender or pronouns beyond that they’re trans.)

This respondent told researchers they ask the chatbot “personal questions, like ‘I wanna know if there’s anything wrong with me.’”

I also spoke to Terry, a trans woman who requested we use a pseudonym so she could speak frankly, about her use of chatbots. She highlighted the ability to talk to someone without any judgement. She also said she uses it for sexual fantasies, although she has increasingly run into limits platforms have added around explicit content.