AI companion and the mental health of the elderly

Last registered on December 09, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
AI companion and the mental health of the elderly
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017436
Initial registration date
December 09, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 09, 2025, 8:24 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Kaixing Huang
Affiliation
China Center for Agriculture Policy, Peking University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Dingqiang Sun
PI Affiliation
PI Name
Xueting Qie
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-12-01
End date
2026-06-30
Keywords
Behavior, Other
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study proposes a rigorous experimental design to quantify the extent to which generative AI companion alleviate loneliness and improves mental well-being, life satisfaction, and self-rated physical health, and to examine heterogeneity, gender differences, and spillover effects of these effects. We implement a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with participants assigned to an "AI companion" or "business-as-usual" condition, using village-level randomization to identify both direct treatment effects and spillovers.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Huang, Kaixing, Xueting Qie and Dingqiang Sun. 2025. "AI companion and the mental health of the elderly ." AEA RCT Registry. December 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17436-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-01-01
Intervention End Date
2026-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
loneliness; self-rated physical health; life satisfaction; happiness.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1. Loneliness: UCLA Loneliness Scale 8;
2. Life satisfaction: Satisfaction with Life Scale, SWLS;
3. Happiness: WHO-5 Well-Being Index.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Not available.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
village
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
No
Sample size: planned number of observations
400 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
200 Pure control (Control and ban AI companion)
200 Treatment and allows AI companion
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan