This mental health chatbot aims to fill the counseling gap at understaffed schools

As school districts struggle to support the mental health of their students, a startup called Sonar Mental Health has built a “wellbeing companion” called Sonny to help.

As described in the Wall Street Journal, Sonny is a chatbot that relies on a combination of human staff and AI. When students text their questions to Sonny, the AI suggests a response, but it’s humans who are ultimately responsible for the message.

Sonar signed its first school partnership in January 2024 and says it’s now available to more than 4,500 middle and high school students across nine districts. The company says the chats are currently being monitored by a team of six people with backgrounds in psychology, social work and crisis-line support.

CEO Drew Bavir told the Journal that he makes it clear to students and schools that Sonny isn’t a therapist, and that Sonar staffers will work with schools and parents to find therapists for students when appropriate.

A big reason why this approach might appeal to school districts is a current shortage in counselors — the Education Department says 17% of high schools don’t have a high school at all.