Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42194418›Full record

ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2026

AI Versus Human-Delivered Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Symptoms in Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Weihao Huang, Yiyang Wu, Yujin Shen, Haoran Song, Chen Ye, Ruoyu Lin, You Wang, Xueling Yang

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Weihao HuangDepartment of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Yiyang WuDepartment of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.ORCID 0009-0005-8828-083X
Yujin ShenDepartment of Psychiatry, Brain Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Guangzhou 510370, China.
Haoran SongDepartment of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Chen YeDepartment of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Ruoyu LinDepartment of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
You WangDepartment of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Xueling YangDepartment of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.

Funding

Guangdong Provincial Undergraduate Teaching Quality and Teaching Reform Project Yue Jiao Gao Han [2024] No. 30Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education 25YJA190016
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis study aimed to compare the effectiveness of online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered by an AI chatbot versus human peer counselors (participants were told it was AI) in reducing anxiety symptoms in young adults.

methodsNinety young adults with mild-to-severe anxiety were randomized to a 4-week intervention of AI-CBT (

resultsBoth AI and human-delivered interventions led to significant within-group reductions in anxiety (

conclusionsIn this exploratory trial, both AI- and peer-counselor-CBT showed within-group promise, but the evidence does not support their efficacy over a no-intervention control. The AI's limitations in providing flexible, emotionally supportive, and personalized interaction likely explain the efficacy gap observed between the two interventions. While AI may serve as a scalable support tool, claims of clinical efficacy require significant caution. These preliminary findings warrant replication in a prospectively registered confirmatory trial.

Indexed as

AIanxietycognitive behavioral therapyinterventionqualitative analysis

Identifiers

PMID42194418
PMCPMC13206094

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.