A commentary by Anne Lepetit, Chief Medical Officer of AXA Health Business, examines a global AXA-Ipsos survey of 19,000 adults across 18 countries finding that 61% use AI chatbots for mental-health support, with usage exceeding 80% in some Asian countries. The piece notes that 28% of users reported following harmful advice from these tools, while access to human mental-health professionals remains limited. Lepetit argues that health leaders, employers, insurers, and AI developers must ensure such tools disclose their limitations, escalate high-risk cases to qualified humans, and are co-designed with clinicians and patients to do more good than harm.
