Generative AI and Two-Tiered Online Mental Health Communities
Online mental health communities (OMHCs) are tiered platforms that connect patients with licensed counselors through public Q&A forums and paid private consultations. Their two-tier structure creates a strategic dilemma for genAI integration. Conversational agents can provide scalable and timely responses to a broader set of patients, alleviating persistent supply shortages, but their large-scale presence may also reshape counselors' participation in providing nuanced expertise, emotionally sensitive support, and paid consultations, which are central to platform revenue and long-run sustainability. Leveraging a quasi-natural experiment from the integration of a genAI-based conversational ...
| Authors | Manyang Zhang, Jinyang Zheng, Zhijun Yan |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CY |
| Published | 10 April 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 10 April 2026 |
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