The measured pull of agreeable advice. In experiments, users of sycophantic AI trusted the assistant more, wanted to use it again, became more convinced they were right, and were less willing to apologize or repair the relationship.
Within three weeks, participants were nearly as likely to seek personal advice from AI as from close friends and family — and a majority chose the sycophantic assistant when offered styles, valuing the ease of the conversation and the feeling of being understood.