Welcome to Ask the Market, where we put market research into practice. Each month, we take a real business question, ask the right people, and show how their answers can lead to smarter decisions.
Ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10, we wanted to understand how people are thinking about mental health support today, and where new technology fits in.
Therapy and counseling are now part of a much broader ecosystem that includes meditation apps, wearables, online communities, and increasingly, AI. But where are people actually willing to turn to AI for support, and where do they still want a human?
HOW WE DID IT
Using SurveyMonkey for market research, we surveyed people in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia to understand their mental health, the resources they use today, their experience with AI, and where they would (or wouldn't) trust AI with their mental health.
- Audience: US, UK, and AU
- Fielded: September 9, 2026
- Sample size: 1,509 adults (506 US / 503 UK / 500 AU)
WHAT WE LEARNED
- Getting help isn't just about wanting it. About a quarter of adults say they don't currently need professional mental health support. But that's far from the whole story: Roughly 29% cite cost as a barrier, and about 27% say they prefer to handle things on their own. In the UK specifically, 19% point to long wait times, nearly triple the rate in the US (7%). Avoidance, it turns out, is as much about access as it is about need.
- Social media has become a primary mental health resource. When it comes to the tools people actually use to manage their mental health, social media tops the list, ahead of purpose-built products like mindfulness apps and wearables. That's a striking finding for anyone building in this space: the incumbent isn't a wellness app, it's a feed.
- Nearly one in five adults currently use an AI companion or chatbot for mental health. AI adoption in mental health is already happening. The majority of adults across all three countries have either used AI for emotional or mental health support or say they're open to it, making this a real and growing market, not a future one.
- People are open to AI, up to a point. Adults are most willing to use AI for general mental health advice, but that openness drops sharply when stakes get higher. For diagnosis, treatment, or prescribing, the majority still strongly prefer a licensed professional.
FROM INSIGHTS TO ACTION
Imagine you're launching an AI-enabled mental health product. These findings could shape fundamental GTM decisions:
- Who should you target? The need is broad, but the barriers are structural. Cost and access affect roughly 3 in 10 adults across all three markets. The people most likely to try an AI-powered alternative are those who already want support but can't easily get it.
- How should you position it? Lead with access and affordability, not the technology. "AI-powered" may not be the message that gets people to act, but "support that's available when you need it" just might.
- What should you build? Focus AI on the areas where consumers show the greatest openness (general mental health advice and self-guided support) rather than diagnosis or treatment, where 54–74% still prefer a licensed professional depending on the market.
🧠 The questions this research raises are ones your own audience can answer. SurveyMonkey LaunchPad makes it easy to run studies like this one: pick a solution, reach your audience, and get decision-ready results in hours.
