AI In 2025: From Therapists To Life Coaches, Here's What We're Really Using It For
Forget writing high-school essays, “Therapy & Companionship” now holds the top spot among all AI use cases.
It’s no longer just about coding or generating content — AI in 2025 is officially your emotional support system, life coach, and wellness buddy. A new ranking sheds light on how people are turning to artificial intelligence for far more than just productivity boosts. The data, compiled by Marc Zao-Sanders for Harvard Business Review (as reported by Voronoi), analysed thousands of public forum posts and tracked a dramatic shift in user behaviour compared to 2024.
What topped the charts this year? Emotional and personal support.
Emotional Intelligence: AI as a Companion and Confidant
“Therapy & Companionship” now holds the top spot among all AI use cases. It has leapfrogged over 2024’s favourite, “Generate Ideas,” signalling a cultural pivot in how users perceive and interact with AI. Instead of just a tool, AI is becoming a partner, helping users cope with mental health challenges, loneliness, and emotional turbulence.
Following closely are “Organise Life” and “Find Purpose” — use cases that also fall under the broader category of support. Whether it’s managing schedules or helping users reflect on existential questions, AI is clearly filling a very human gap.
Here’s the top 10 AI use cases in 2025, based on Marc Zao-Sanders’ analysis:
- Therapy & Companionship (Support)
- Organise Life (Support)
- Find Purpose (Support)
- Enhance Learning (Learning & Education)
- Generate Code (Technical Assistance)
- Generate Ideas (Content Creation)
- Fun & Nonsense (Creativity & Recreation)
- Improve Code (Technical Assistance)
- Creativity (Content Creation)
- Healthy Living (Support)
From Learning Assistant to Code Whisperer
That doesn’t mean AI’s traditional strengths have taken a backseat. Educational and technical use cases still rank high. “Enhance Learning,” “Generate Code,” and “Improve Code” all make the top 10 list, confirming that AI remains a strong ally in upskilling and development.
Notably, “Enhance Learning” rose to fourth place in 2025, suggesting that users continue to rely on AI to simplify complex topics, explain difficult concepts, or personalise study sessions. As classrooms and workplaces evolve, so too does AI’s role in helping people keep up.
The Fall of AI Search and the Rise of Meaning-Making
Interestingly, “Specific Search” — which held the #3 spot last year — dropped significantly in 2025. While people still use AI to learn, they’re no longer turning to it primarily for quick facts. This decline could be attributed to the rise of AI-integrated search platforms like Google’s Gemini, which blur the line between traditional browsing and AI assistance.
Instead, people now want more than answers — they want insight, purpose, and context. Whether that’s through companionship or creative exploration, users are reshaping AI into something more meaningful.
As Zao-Sanders puts it, this shift suggests we’re “in the midst of the fourth industrial age” — one powered not just by innovation, but by introspection.
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