Millions of Americans grapple with mental illness each year, and more than 50% of them go untreated. The number of high-tech virtual and app-based Chatbot startups offering virtual therapy and messaging therapy sessions is on the rise, due to the exponential growth of virtual medicine, which facilitated the advancement and accessibility of mental health services in recent years.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death, among adolescents in America. One in six individuals between the ages of ten to nineteen years old suffer from mental health problems that extend well into adulthood and impair the physical and psychological health of afflicted individuals, especially when the underlying causes are not addressed. However, none of the startups on the market cater to this age group, which makes BuddyBot unique.

The use of Chatbots in the healthcare industry has been dramatically increasing since the Covid-19 pandemic and rising costs restricted in-person patient-doctor consultations, including for mental health care and therapy. The pandemic has exacerbated an already escalating universal mental health problem, particularly amongst teenagers and young adults. According to Mental Health America, in this year alone, 9.7% of youth in the U.S. have been diagnosed with clinical depression. This is a statistically significant increase from last year’s 9.2%. Furthermore, the rate of depression, 12.4%, is considerably higher amongst multiracial youth. During Covid-19, anxiety disorders and depressive disorders increased drastically amongst individuals across the world. Psychological distress, depression, substance abuse, and suicide increased a drastic amount recently. Some of the factors that might have contributed to these issues are challenges with relationships, loneliness, isolation, and fear because of the virus and overall pandemic.