Currently accepted at: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jan 2, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Jan 5, 2026 - Mar 2, 2026
Date Accepted: May 5, 2026
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
This paper has been accepted and is currently in production.
It will appear shortly on 10.2196/90709
The final accepted version (not copyedited yet) is in this tab.
The Emerging Roles of AI in Self-Directed Stress-Management: A Systematic Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Stress is widespread and carries substantial mental health, social, and economic burdens. Yet access to clinician-led stress management remains constrained by service capacity, cost, and stigma. In response, artificial intelligence (AI)–enabled tools have rapidly proliferated as scalable, self-directed options. However, evidence on how these systems support stress management outside formal clinical settings remains fragmented.
Objective:
This systematic review synthesises empirical evidence on how AI-enabled technologies are used for self-directed stress management. We map the emerging functions of these tools, the psychological frameworks informing their design, the populations and settings studied, and the outcomes reported.
Methods:
We conducted a PRISMA-compliant systematic review of English-language studies published between 2000 and 2025. Six databases were searched (APA PsycINFO, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, ProQuest, and Google Scholar).
Results:
Out of 3,008 records identified, 35 studies met the inclusion criteria. AI-supported stress management operates through five core functions, including psychological intervention, behavioural support, psychoeducation, emotional companionship, and stress monitoring and triage, collectively enabling users to identify stress, regulate responses, and engage in self-directed coping outside formal clinical care.
Conclusions:
AI-enabled systems show preliminary promise for supporting self-directed stress management through multiple user-facing functions grounded in established psychological frameworks.
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.