Rutgers study finds most New Jerseyans support regulating AI chatbots for mental health
NEW JERSEY — Nearly 6 in 10 New Jersey adults support state regulation of artificial intelligence chatbots that provide mental health advice, according to a new Rutgers study published in Health Affairs Scholar.
The research was conducted by the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, home of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, in collaboration with the Center for Health Services Research at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.
Researchers surveyed 1,568 New Jersey adults from March 27-30 through the probability-based Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
According to the study, support for regulation was even higher among respondents who had previously used AI chatbots for mental health information or advice. Researchers said nearly three-fourths of those respondents favored regulating the use of AI in mental health settings.
The study comes as AI chatbots become increasingly common sources of health information. Researchers cited national data from KFF indicating that about one in six U.S. adults has used AI chatbots for information about mental health symptoms or coping strategies.
“We know people are using AI chatbots to ask about health topics and that there has been real harm done when people in mental health crisis use generative AI tools for advice or support,” said Elizabeth Stone, the study’s lead author and a core member of the Center for Health Services Research at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.
“Our findings indicate that most adults in New Jersey would support some state regulation of how AI chatbots respond to people in these moments and that support is even greater among people who are already using AI to ask about mental health,” said Stone, who also is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Researchers said concerns about AI responses to users experiencing mental health crises have prompted lawmakers across the country to consider new regulations. Since 2025, more than 400 bills addressing health-related uses of AI have been introduced nationwide, according to the study, though New Jersey has not enacted regulations specific to the issue.
“Numbers like these don’t leave much ambiguity,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “On an issue that barely existed a few years ago, New Jerseyans have formed a remarkably clear and unified view. When broad agreement is paired with firsthand experience making people more supportive of oversight, not less, that’s a signal policymakers should heed.”
The researchers said additional studies are needed to better understand how public support may vary depending on the specific types of AI regulations under consideration. Rachel Topazian of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus co-authored the study.
