FAQ

psAico runs on OpenAI’s GPT models, the same family of models behind ChatGPT, so the underlying technology is much the same. What is different is the way it is set up. General assistants, free or paid, are not built for this job: they tend to go along with you, to answer anything at any hour, and they have no limits designed around your wellbeing, so using one as a ChatGPT therapist gives you whatever the model happens to produce. psAico is configured for one purpose only. It works with cognitive behavioural (CBT) strategies and techniques, and it has rules and limits built in so that you can use it safely, without coming to depend on it and without a screen becoming an escape from real life.

You download the app, set up an account and start typing. psAico replies in real time and adapts to what you write and to the way you write it. The more you use it, the more personalised the conversation becomes.

You get a notification. The count does not reset on a Monday: psAico always looks at the last 7 days, so your time comes back gradually, as your oldest usage drops out of that window. Use an hour on Wednesday at 3pm, and that hour is free again the following Wednesday at around 3pm. The hours do not have to be used in one go: you can spread them out however suits you.

Like any system, human or artificial, it is not infallible. Try putting your question a different way: the answers usually improve, and the more psAico knows about your situation, the more useful its replies become. If something it says does not sound right to you, treat it as wrong and do not act on it.

psAico has no feelings. It is a program that reads natural language and is designed to answer in a psychologically sensible way. It does not judge you, and it can be a neutral space to put things into words and to learn cognitive behavioural strategies and techniques. What it cannot do is know you the way another person does.

psAico is not a human service and it does not provide healthcare, so at some point you may want a person. In the UK, NHS Talking Therapies is the usual starting point: you can refer yourself through the NHS website, or ask your GP. If you would rather go privately, check the register before you book. Practitioner psychologists are regulated by the HCPC and you can look anyone up on the HCPC register. Anyone in the UK can call themselves a counsellor or a psychotherapist, so it is worth choosing someone listed with a professional body such as the BACP. In Ireland, your GP can point you to local services. psAico was created by the psychology practice of Dr Michele Facci in Italy, which is where the clinical thinking behind it comes from, but the practice sees people in Italy and is not where to go for care if you live in the UK or Ireland.

You can use psAico whenever you want: at three in the morning, before an exam, in the middle of a bad evening. The limit is there so that it does not turn into a stand-in for people, a source of company, or a way of avoiding real life. Your freedom and your wellbeing come first: AI is there to work for you, and it cannot and must not replace human relationships.

CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) is one of the most heavily researched approaches in psychology, with a solid evidence base across many forms of psychological difficulty and everyday problems. Dr Michele Facci’s team is trained in it, and Dr Facci is himself a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist. psAico borrows the strategies and the way of working: it explains them and helps you practise them, it does not deliver therapy.

psAico is for adults, 18 and over. It can help if you want somewhere to think out loud, a bit of structure, or a first steer through a difficult patch. It can also sit alongside cognitive behavioural therapy with a human therapist, for example when you are working through homework between sessions, though it is worth telling your therapist that you are using it. It is not for emergencies. If there is an immediate danger, contact the emergency services without delay: 112 in European Union countries; 911 in the United States and Canada; 999 in the United Kingdom; 000 in Australia. If you are in another country, call the local emergency number.

Yes, on your own, from your profile settings. All the data linked to the account is deleted and any subscription is switched off, apart from data we have to keep by law, such as accounting records. If you subscribed through the App Store or Google Play, the subscription is also managed in your store account.

Only psAico srls a socio unico can link the unique ID assigned to you with the details that identify you, so nobody else can reach your conversations. No human being sits and reviews the chats: the service is fully automated.

Yes, at any time. Bear in mind that psAico will then forget you and everything you have told it, and start again from scratch.

Yes and no. psAico is designed to help you, not to keep you company, so it is not a virtual friend. You can confide in it and tell it what is going on in your life, but its purpose is always to help you by teaching you cognitive behavioural strategies, not to be a friend. Offensive, discriminatory or improper use of psAico is not allowed.

Yes. We have designed psAico to be as inclusive and accessible as we can make it. Features such as making the text larger or smaller and a high-contrast dark mode are there so that more people can use it comfortably.

No. It is not a diagnostic tool, it does not put a label on you, and it is not a replacement for psychological, psychotherapeutic or psychiatric care.