"AI is increasingly becoming part of patients' everyday mental health landscape," Hudon says. "Rather than assuming it is either helpful or harmful, clinicians need a structured, nonjudgmental way to understand why a patient is using it, what role it plays in their life and whether it is affecting their relationships, functioning or perception of reality. That is what AWARE is designed to support."

That nonjudgmental stance sits at the heart of the framework. Patients may hesitate to admit how much they rely on AI if they expect dismissal or lecture. Structured, open-ended questions can lower that barrier and surface information that would otherwise stay hidden during a standard appointment.

The authors also look beyond individual consultations. They call for incorporating AI assessments into medical training, using simulations and clinical supervision so that future doctors learn to raise the topic confidently and skillfully. Doctors who feel comfortable discussing AI can deliver safer, more personalized care, they argue, because they will actually know what their patients are doing between visits.

There are limits to what the paper offers so far. AWARE is a conversational framework, not a validated diagnostic instrument, and the publication does not report clinical trial data on how it performs in practice. How effectively the five questions identify patients at risk, or whether they change treatment outcomes, remains to be studied.

Still, the framework addresses a gap that has widened quickly. AI chatbots moved from novelty to everyday mental health tool in barely two years, while clinical guidance lagged behind. By fostering open conversations about AI use, the researchers argue, health care professionals can better support patient recovery in a digital world — one where the question "Are you chatting with an AI?" may soon sit alongside standard questions about sleep, medication and mood.