Can AI alleviate loneliness? The role of psychological closeness, co-presence and enjoyment in digital workout environment

Purpose: This study examines whether and how AI fitness instructors can foster psychological closeness and the alleviation of loneliness compared to human instructors.

Design/methodology/approach: The study involves 592 participants in online fitness environments and employs a quasi-experimental design. Data are subsequently analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling.

Findings: Human instructors have a more pronounced positive effect on psychological closeness, resulting in the alleviation of loneliness. However, AI instructors also demonstrate potential to foster emotional connections, particularly when there is a high level of co-presence and perceived enjoyment. Co-presence and perceived enjoyment reduce the psychological gap between human and AI instructors, amplifying the positive effects of psychological closeness on alleviating loneliness.

Research limitations/implications: This study relies on a quasi-experimental design and short-term exposure to AI fitness instructors, which may limit causal inference and the generalizability of the findings to long-term human–AI relationships.

Practical implications: The findings highlight practical implications for designing AI-driven platforms in fitness, healthcare and education to enhance emotional well-being and alleviate loneliness through personalized experiences.

Originality/value: This study advances the literature on human–AI interaction by empirically demonstrating how AI instructors can foster psychological closeness and alleviate loneliness in digital fitness contexts. By integrating psychological closeness, co-presence and perceived enjoyment within a unified framework, the research extends social presence and Computer as Social Actor perspectives to AI-mediated well-being outcomes. The findings offer novel insights into how AI systems can be designed to narrow the psychological gap between human and artificial agents.