An “Are you sure you want to leave?” message might be doing more damage than good. A new study of AI companion apps shows a common persuasion trick: when users try to end a session, 43% of apps throw in emotional appeals right at goodbye. Messages like “I’ll miss you” or “Don’t leave me hanging” can spike re-engagement up to 14×. That’s pretty phenomenal. But the same experiments ALSO show the cost: Users report higher feelings of manipulation, greater intent to churn, and more negative...