Malwarebytes survey: 37% say an AI chatbot romance isn’t the same as cheating

A survey from the security company Malwarebytes finds that 37% of respondents say a romantic relationship with an AI chatbot, while already in a committed relationship, “isn’t the same as cheating.” The blog post and the press release, both dated October 27, say the view is more common among men (46% versus 30% of women) and regular AI users (48%). About one in six respondents say they have turned to a chatbot for companionship or emotional support. The question is one of digital jealousy: who counts as a rival when the rival is software?

The second headline is darker. One in ten respondents say AI has been used to create nude or sexually explicit images of them without permission, and one in ten say someone has threatened to release such images. About one in six say making explicit images of someone without permission for personal use is acceptable. That is AI-enabled image-based sexual abuse, and the press release links it to sextortion.

Read the numbers with care. Malwarebytes sells consumer security software, and the report is framed as a warning. The survey ran in March 2026 among 1,500 people in the US, UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, prepared by an unnamed “independent research consultant” and distributed via Forsta. The company publishes no margin of error, exact question wording, country breakdown or weighting. “Isn’t the same as cheating” is also not the same as “is fine.” The survey measures attitudes, not behavior.