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As of 13 August 2026, AI can make new friends.
Most people should do this themselves; the prompt is on this page.
Can you do it?
5 minutesto a draft.
30 minutesto something you’d act on.
Cost, all in£0
Skill neededchat-fluent
Who has to check ityou
What the alternative costsWysa is an AI wellbeing support tool with evidence-based self-help exercises.
If this goes wrong: you send an awkward message or choose an unsuitable activity, then stop, adjust the plan and try a different route.
What to actually do
Do it yourself
The route this page recommends
A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.
How to actually do it
- Write down your area, interests, available times, preferred online or in-person setting and how comfortable you feel starting conversations.
- Paste the prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and replace every bracketed slot with your own details.
- Choose one suggested route that fits your interests and open the relevant organiser, community page or platform yourself to confirm that it exists and suits you.
- Ask the chatbot to turn the chosen route into one specific first action, such as posting an introduction, attending a public session or messaging an organiser.
- Send or use the drafted introduction only after removing personal details you do not want to share and checking that the wording sounds like you.
- After the first interaction, record what felt comfortable, what did not and whether the person or group responded, then ask the chatbot to adjust the next step without treating a lack of response as a judgement about you.
Prompt
Help me make new friends in a practical, low-pressure way. I am based in [town or area], I am available [days and times], and my interests are [interests]. I would prefer [online or in-person] settings and feel [comfortable, nervous or very nervous] about starting conversations. Suggest three suitable ways to meet people, using only activities that fit these details. For each one, give me a first small action, a short introduction I could say or send, and one follow-up question. Include a two-week plan with no more than [number] social actions per week. Do not diagnose me, promise that I will make friends, invent local groups or claim that an activity exists unless I provide its details. Flag anything that needs checking, and include basic advice about protecting my privacy and meeting safely.
Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.
Use a tool built for this
Second choiceHand it to a person
The distant thirdA person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.
What it gets wrong
- AI cannot create trust, shared history or the mutual interest that turns contact into friendship.
- It cannot know whether a local group is welcoming, active or safe unless you check that yourself.
- It cannot read the other person's intentions or reliably judge chemistry from a short exchange.
- It cannot attend an event, start the conversation for you or maintain the relationship afterwards.
- It may suggest generic social activities that ignore access needs, cultural context or the reasons social contact feels difficult for you.
Even on a YES, the friction has a name: relationship, judgement under ambiguity and context depth.
How we scored this
Five axes, each scored nought to two by hand: ten means AI carries the task cleanly, and the thresholds that turn a total into YES, PARTLY or NO are published in the methodology. Each axis name links to its definition.
| Axis | Score (0–2) |
|---|---|
| Output | 2 |
| Inputs | 2 |
| Verification | 2 |
| Liability | 2 |
| Effort delta | 1 |
| Total | 9 / 10 |
The methodology and its thresholds are published in full.
FAQ
- Can ChatGPT help me make friends?
- Yes. It can help you choose realistic ways to meet people, prepare an introduction and plan a small first step. It cannot make the relationship mutual or do the social part for you.
- What should I ask AI if I am lonely?
- Give it your interests, location, availability and preferred level of social contact, then ask for low-pressure ways to meet people and a short plan. Do not use it as a diagnosis or as a substitute for urgent support; for urgent or worrying symptoms, contact NHS 111 or use 111.nhs.uk.
- Can AI write a message to someone I want to be friends with?
- Yes, it can draft a short invitation or follow-up message in a tone you choose. Check that it sounds like you, removes private information you do not want to share and does not pressure the other person.
- Is it safe to use AI to make friends online?
- AI can suggest basic privacy and meeting-safety steps, but it cannot verify another person's identity or intentions. Keep early contact on the platform, avoid sharing sensitive information and choose a public place for an in-person meeting.
Nearby answers
Assessed by gpt-5.6-luna (gpt-5.6-luna) on 2026-08-13, second-checked by an independent model. Wrong somewhere? Email [email protected] and it gets re-checked.
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