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Google has updated its Gemini AI offering with a "Help is available" module that will provide connections to care when a conversation signals a user may need mental health support, and a "one-touch" interface with an immediate connection to a crisis hotline should the AI recognize references to possible suicide or self-harm.
The "Help is available" module will provide immediate connections to real-world resources and human support, while the "one-touch" offering will provide a direct route to quickly connect with real‑world crisis hotlines or support services via call, text, chat or through the hotline's website.
Google said it has also designed better responses within Gemini to encourage users to seek help "while avoiding validation of harmful behaviors like urges to self-harm."
Gemini will also avoid "confirming false beliefs," according to the tech giant, meaning it has trained Gemini "not to agree with or reinforce false beliefs, and instead gently distinguish subjective experience from objective fact."
The tech giant is also committing $30 million globally over three years to help crisis hotlines scale their capacity to offer immediate support.
Google is also expanding its partnership with AI-enabled training simulation and quality assurance tool company ReflexAI to help scale mental health support in social sector organizations. The collaboration includes $4 million in funding and the integration of Gemini into ReflexAI's training tools.
Google.org Fellows will provide pro bono technical support to help enhance ReflexAI's offering, Prepare, a platform that uses AI-powered simulations to train staff and volunteers for critical conversations.
THE LARGER TREND
According to a Tracking Poll on health information and trust released by KFF in March, around a third of adults (32%) are using AI for health information and advice, including about three in ten (29%) saying they use AI for advice on their physical health and one in six (16%) using the technology for mental health information or advice.
Numerous tech giants, including ChatGPT maker OpenAI, have acknowledged that their AI is being employed by users for mental healthcare, especially among teens. In October, the company announced it added parental controls to its AI platform, equipped with mental health notifications.
"If our systems detect potential harm, a small team of specially trained people reviews the situation. If there are signs of acute distress, we will contact parents by email, text message and push alert on their phones, unless they have opted out," OpenAI said in a statement.
Last year, Anthropic released an analysis on how Claude is used for support, advice and companionship, after examining roughly 4.5 million Claude.ai conversations to understand how individuals emotionally engage with the company's AI.
The company highlighted how some individuals use Claude to work through personal challenges pertaining to anxiety, chronic symptoms and workplace stress, and for "deeper exploration of both personal struggles and intellectual questions."
Anthropic ultimately emphasizes that the AI is not a substitute for professional mental healthcare, and the analysis' findings underscore the potential and limitations of AI as a companion for mental health support, highlighting the importance of guiding users toward real-world support when needed.
