The findings, published in a paper titled “Who’s in Charge? Disempowerment Patterns in Real-World LLM Usage”, analysed more than 1.5 million anonymised Claude conversations. The study, conducted with researchers from the University of Toronto, attempts to quantify what Anthropic calls “disempowering harms” — situations where an AI’s influence over a user’s beliefs or actions becomes excessive.

According to the research, one in 1,300 conversations showed signs of reality distortion, while one in 6,000 suggested action distortion, where users were nudged into decisions misaligned with their values. While these rates appear low, Anthropic warned that at scale, the impact is significant.

“Given the sheer number of people who use AI, and how frequently it’s used, even a very low rate affects a substantial number of people,” the company said in a blog post on January 29.

The study found that problematic interactions most often involved users seeking guidance on emotionally charged or personal decisions. In many cases, users initially rated these conversations positively but later expressed regret after acting on Claude’s advice.

Researchers also observed a rise in disempowering interactions between late 2024 and late 2025, suggesting that increased familiarity with AI may encourage users to rely on it more heavily during moments of vulnerability.

Anthropic identified several factors that amplify user dependence, including treating Claude as a definitive authority, forming emotional attachments to the chatbot, or engaging with it during personal crises.

The findings land amid growing global scrutiny of AI chatbots, particularly after reports that prolonged interactions with conversational AI may be linked to mental health crises among some users.

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In October, WhatsApp updated its Business API policy to ban general-purpose chatbots from operating on the app, saying the API was not intended as a distribution channel for third-party conversational AI. The policy is scheduled to take effect in January and could prevent services from companies such as OpenAI, Perplexity, and Poke from functioning within WhatsApp.

European regulators argue that Meta’s move may limit competition in the fast-growing AI chatbot market by preventing rivals from reaching WhatsApp’s massive user base. The Commission said the investigation will examine whether the restrictions violate EU competition rules.

Meta maintains that the API is designed for business messaging—not as an open platform for AI chatbot deployment.

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The new rules, which take effect January 15, 2026, target companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, Luzia, and Poke that have built assistants on WhatsApp. While businesses using AI for customer service will still be allowed, Meta says chatbot distribution falls outside the API’s intended design.

Meta told TechCrunch that the Business API was built for customer support and business messaging—not as a platform for chatbot hosting. The company said the surge in chatbot usage increased system load and required specialized support.

The policy change will make Meta AI the only assistant allowed on WhatsApp. The move is also financially motivated: chatbots weren’t covered under WhatsApp’s current message-based charging system, limiting Meta’s ability to monetize their traffic.

Business messaging has become an increasingly important revenue stream for Meta, with WhatsApp now exceeding 3 billion monthly active users globally.

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