Woebot
“The conversation ended with a retirement notice.”
Our takeWoebot Health retired its app on June 30, 2025. Its FAQ confirms that previous accounts can no longer be accessed.
- Lifespan
- 2946 days
- Dates
- announced · shipped · discontinued
- Where
- Startup
The Pitch
Woebot was developed as non-prescription digital mental health software designed to help users manage symptoms of depression and anxiety. E3E1 The service launched as a stand-alone iOS application, providing individuals with an accessible mobile mental health tool. E3 Operating as a fully automated conversational ally available at any hour on smartphones and tablets, the application was intended to support mood management and supplement existing therapies, clinical treatments, or personal self-care practices. E4 Outside reporting noted that the chatbot's conversational interactions and behavior were pre-scripted. E3E1 Through guided check-ins, the software invited users to explore their thoughts and feelings while practicing self-directed exercises, including mood tracking, progress reflection, gratitude journaling, and mindfulness routines. E4
What Happened
Woebot originally launched as a stand-alone iOS application created to help people cope with symptoms of depression and anxiety. E3 Over its operating history, the platform received industry recognition, including selection for Newsweek's inaugural ranking of the World's Best Digital Health Companies. E4 Woebot Health formally retired the mobile application on June 30, 2025. E4E1E3 Following the retirement date, new account registrations were halted and existing users could no longer log in to their accounts. E4E1E3 The company set a deadline of July 15, 2025, for users to request copies of their conversation transcripts, followed by the complete anonymization of all account data at the end of July. E4E1E3
Why It FailedOur take
In our view, the evidence establishes the outcome but not the cause. Woebot Health retired the app on June 30, 2025, and previous accounts can no longer be accessed. E4E1E3 Reporting characterized the bot’s responses and behavior as pre-scripted. E3E1 Neither fact demonstrates why the retirement occurred. The supplied record does not establish a financial, regulatory, clinical, safety, adoption, competitive, or product-quality cause; nor does it supply a direct decision-maker explanation or identify a replacement. The market_moved classification should therefore be treated as an editorial interpretation rather than a demonstrated causal account. A stronger explanation would need direct evidence linking the retirement decision to a specific business or product condition.
Lessons and What Would Have Worked
In our view, continuity and a clear exit plan matter for services people incorporate into personal support routines.
Timeline
- Reported service/support end date; see scope notes.E1
What happened to Woebot?
- What was Woebot?
- Woebot Health retired its app on June 30, 2025.
- What happened to Woebot?
- Woebot originally launched as a stand-alone iOS application created to help people cope with symptoms of depression and anxiety.
- Why did Woebot fail?
- In our view, the evidence establishes the outcome but not the cause.
Receipts
- E3I Tried Woebot, a Therapy Chatbot and App for Depression - Business Insider
Supporting quote
Woebot, which is designed to help people cope with feelings of depression and anxiety, launched as a stand-alone iOS app earlier this month.
- E4Techmeme: Woebot Health, a startup offering a mental health chatbot, raises $90M Series B after its digital therapeutic solution was approved by the US FDA in May (Vish Gain/Silicon Republic)
Supporting quote
Woebot Health, a startup offering a mental health chatbot, raises $90M Series B after its digital therapeutic solution was approved by the US FDA in May
- E4Effectiveness of a Web-based and Mobile Therapy Chatbot on Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Subclinical Young Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial - PMC
Supporting quote
One solution that seems to be especially promising is agent-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (AG-CBT \[ [5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10993129/#ref5)\]), in which interventions are provided by chatbots—applications backed by machine learning algorithms that mimic natural conversation while communicating with users via a chat interface \[ [6](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10993129/#ref6)\]. The development of such applications has been approached in many different ways, but one bot that seems to be the most advanced so far is Woebot. Woebot is a self-help chatbot using CBT techniques such as psychoeducation, goal planning, and mood tracking to lower the levels of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and, recently, postnatal depression \[ [5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10993129/#ref5), [6](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10993129/#ref6)\]. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the use of Woebot for a period of 2 weeks has been proven to be more effective at reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression than the use of self-help materials prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) \[ [6](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10993129/#ref6)\].
- E4AI Therapy Chatbots: What the 2026 Research Actually Shows | Simply Psychology
Supporting quote
**Woebot:** Developed by Woebot Health, spun out of Stanford. Based on CBT and IPT. Has the most published research of any mental health chatbot.
- E4Woebot Review 2026: What Happened to the Original AI…
Supporting quote
Woebot was one of the first AI mental health chatbots, built on scripted CBT dialogue and used by roughly 1.5 million people. Its consumer app was retired on June 30, 2025.
- E4AI Psychotherapy Shutdown | Telehealth.org
Supporting quote
Woebot Health recently shut down its CBT-based therapy chatbot on June 30, 2025, after informing users that conversation history would remain available for download through that date, and that personal data would be anonymized by July 31.
- E4Woebot Health is shutting down its app | MobiHealthNews
Supporting quote
Woebot Health is shutting down its app. The digital mental health tool maker will retire its teen-focused app as of June 30.
- E4R.I.P. Woebot. When the most ethical and science-base… | by Scott Wallace PhD | Advances in AI for Mental Health | Medium
Supporting quote
On June 30, 2025, Woebot is shutting down its direct-to-consumer app signalling the end to an era of B2C mental health support.
- E4Woebot Review 2026: Is It Worth It? | Chatbot Gallery
Supporting quote
Woebot Health shut down its free consumer CBT chatbot app on June 30, 2025.
- E4Woebot Health Platform Review, Pricing & Guide | UgliAI Hub
Supporting quote
Woebot Health's current FAQ says the app is retired, new accounts cannot be created, and previous accounts cannot be accessed.
- E4FAQs | Woebot Health
Supporting quote
The Woebot app was retired June 30, 2025.
- E1FAQs | Woebot Health
Supporting quote
The Woebot app was retired June 30, 2025.
- E4Download Woebot | Woebot Health
Supporting quote
Woebot is a fully-automated mental health ally you can chat with through an app on your smartphone or tablet, anytime day or night. Woebot invites you to monitor and manage your mood using tools such as mood tracking, progress reflection, gratitude journaling, and mindfulness practice. Woebot is intended to help you manage mood and anxiety symptoms and can be used as a mental health support tool to supplement treatments, therapies, or self-care practices.
- E3Woebot Health shuts down pioneering therapy chatbot | STAT
Supporting quote
the bot’s responses and behavior were pre-scripted.
- E4Woebot Health
Supporting quote
We were honored to be included in Newsweek’s inaugural list of the World’s Best Digital Health Companies, which recognizes stand-out companies with truly beneficial products
- E4Technically advanced. Responsible AI. | Woebot Health
Supporting quote
Woebot’s conversations are written by conversational writers, along with collaboration from our clinical experts.** Woebot gives users the opportunity to share about what they’re feeling, and then leverages natural language processing to interpret those inputs and identify which expert-crafted technique would be most beneficial in that moment.
- E1Woebot for Adults_Instructions for Use_Providers_Jul 18th, 2024
Supporting quote
Non-Prescription Digital Mental Health Software
Sentiment
At launch
No launch coverage quote recorded.
At death
No death coverage quote recorded.
No sentiment quotes recorded.
Last updated · Phil · How we source entries
Changelog
- — Published Woebot.
- — Published Woebot.
- — Published Woebot.