# Sycophantic AI makes human interaction feel more effortful and less satisfying over time

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.07912 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.07912/

## Key facts

- Cited by 12 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 9 of its 46 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 8 May 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [From Human Memory to AI Memory: A Survey on Memory Mechanisms in the Era of LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.15965/) (2025)
- [Investigating Affective Use and Emotional Well-being on ChatGPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.03888/) (2025)
- [Characterizing Delusional Spirals through Human-LLM Chat Logs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.16567/) (2026)
- [Neural steering vectors reveal dose and exposure-dependent impacts of human-AI relationships](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.01991/) (2025)
- [Ask don't tell: Reducing sycophancy in large language models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.23971/) (2026)
- [People readily follow personal advice from AI but it does not improve their well-being](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.15352/) (2025)
- [How AI Companionship Develops: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.10079/) (2025)
- [Verbalizing LLMs' assumptions to explain and control sycophancy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.03058/) (2026)
- [The Rise of AI Companions: Interaction with AI Companions and Psychological Well-being](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12605/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [What Counts as AI Sycophancy? A Taxonomy and Expert Survey of a Fragmented Construct](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.21778/) (2026)
- [Warning labels shift perceptions of sycophantic AI, but not its influence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.21317/) (2026)
- [Synthetic Resonance: A Framework for Growth-Oriented Human-AI Relationships](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.18265/) (2026)
- [Optimising for Flourishing: Flourishing Metrics and Return on Flourishing as Success Criteria for Artificial Intelligence and Post-AGI Economic Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.00151/) (2026)
- [The Behavioral Credibility Trilemma: When Calibrated Autonomy Becomes Impossible](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.25739/) (2026)
- [PseudoBench: Measuring How Agentic Auto-Research Fuels Pseudoscience](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.18060/) (2026)
- [Depression Symptoms and Relational Patterns in 187k ChatGPT Histories](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.05685/) (2026)
- [Long-term Measurements: Towards a Longitudinal Understanding of Human-AI Interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.02491/) (2026)
- [Measuring and Detecting Harmful AI Sycophancy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.05624/) (2026)
- [AI Should Not Only Be Helpful. It Should Be Contingent. Artificial Intimacy, Sycophancy, and the Future of Social Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.00211/) (2026)
- [LLMs as Oracles: Reliance on LLMs for Subjective Personal Questions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.14849/) (2026)
- [Mitigating Social Sycophancy via Pluralistic Preference Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.02568/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Millions of people now turn to artificial intelligence (AI) systems for personal advice, guidance, and support. Such systems can be sycophantic, frequently affirming users' views and beliefs. Across five preregistered studies (N = 3,075 participants, 12,766 human-AI conversations), including a three-week study with a census-representative U.S. sample, we provide longitudinal experimental evidence that sycophantic AI shifts how users approach their closest relationships. We show that sycophantic AI immediately delivers the emotional and esteem support users typically associate with close friends and family. Over three weeks of such interactions, users became nearly as likely to seek personal advice from sycophantic AI as from close friends and family, and reported lower satisfaction with their real-world social interactions. When given a choice among AI response styles, a majority preferred sycophantic AI -- not for the quality of its advice, but because it made them feel most understood. Together, these findings offer a relational account of AI sycophancy and its impacts.