Practicing CBT and ACT with AI: how it works and how to start

CareOps editorial team · November 7, 2026 · 7 min read

Mental wellness information and service guidance published by CareOps.

A big part of working with a counselor happens between sessions: writing down a thought that came up, trying a small step you've been avoiding, and looking back on it next time. Carrying that practice forward in conversation with an AI is what people often mean by practicing these techniques with AI. Here is which techniques you can practice and how, what research shows, and where to start.

The types of approaches and how they differ are in seven types of counseling approaches, and individual techniques in what CBT is and what ACT is. How to choose an AI counseling app in general is in what AI counseling is. This post focuses on practicing those techniques together with AI.

What does practicing these techniques with AI mean? #

Most of these techniques are skills you learn by practicing. CBT starts from the idea that situations, thoughts, feelings and actions are linked, and you repeat exercises that help you notice and change that loop. Practicing with AI brings those exercises into a conversation. The AI listens and helps you sort out which loop is running, guides an exercise step by step, and looks back with you on what happened in the next conversation.

Which techniques can you practice with AI? #

Behavioral activation practice is described in what behavioral activation is, and an example of writing down thoughts in a thought record example.

What does an AI counselor do in this kind of practice? #

• Listens first and sums up: asks one question at a time about what happened and what you thought and felt, then shows you how the pieces connect.
• Suggests a fitting technique: chooses an approach that fits your concern based on what you shared and an initial check, and explains why.
• Guides practice step by step: instead of handing you a blank form, it follows questions to fill in a thought record or a small action plan with you.
• Picks up next session: remembers what you decided and how it went, and helps you choose whether to keep it, make it bigger or make it smaller.

Naming a condition or deciding on medication happens with a psychiatrist. Practicing with AI can go alongside treatment or in-person counseling.

What does research say about digital CBT? #

Internet-based CBT (iCBT) has been studied a great deal. A 2021 analysis that pooled individual data from 39 randomized trials of depression, covering 9,751 people, found that both guided and self-guided programs improved PHQ-9 scores more than control conditions, right after treatment and at long-term follow-up. Guided programs did slightly better right after treatment, but there was no evidence of a difference at 6 or 12 months, and for people with milder symptoms the gap between the two was small (Karyotaki et al., 2021).

A 2019 meta-analysis of 66 smartphone app trials also found that apps reduced depression and generalized anxiety symptoms and stress compared with control conditions, with larger effects for CBT-based apps that included guidance and reminders to engage (Linardon et al., 2019). A 2023 meta-analysis of 15 randomized trials of AI conversational programs found reductions in depressive symptoms and distress, with larger effects for programs using generative AI and delivered in mobile apps, while overall well-being showed no clear difference (Li et al., 2023).

What all three point to is that effects were larger when the technique's content came together with a flow that brings you back to practice. Those two are worth checking first when choosing where to practice with AI.

What should I check when choosing where to practice? #

1. Does it say which techniques it uses? Look for the names of the underlying approaches, such as CBT or ACT.
2. Do sessions carry over? Check whether it remembers what you talked about and the practice you chose, and picks up next time.
3. Is practice saved as a record? Thought records and planned steps need to stay so you can look back on what changed.
4. Does it bring you back? See whether it reminds you around the time you planned to practice or asks about it next session.
5. How is personal information handled? Check whether names and contact details are masked and whether you can delete records.

How do I get started? #

1. Check where you are first: taking a depression or anxiety check makes it easier to decide where to begin.
2. Pick one concern: rather than solving everything at once, start with the one thing that pulls at you most these days.
3. Get a technique suggested in your first session: after talking it through, try a short exercise with the approach that fits.
4. Choose one small practice: decide on one thing to try before next time, down to when and where.
5. Look back next session: whether or not you managed it, talk about how it went and adjust the size of the next step.

If you're wondering how strong your anxiety has been lately, start with a seven-item check on the past two weeks. You can take it right away, with no login.

How does CareOps Maeumi work? #

CareOps Maeumi is an AI counseling app informed by established approaches, including cognitive behavioral (CBT), acceptance-based (ACT), behavioral activation and motivational techniques. A short intake and initial check-in look at where you are, your first session suggests an approach that fits, and exercises such as thought records or logging what you did today happen step by step inside the conversation. It remembers past sessions so the next one picks up where you left off. Your first session is free. Get the app

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