Ask ReachOut FAQs
Answers to your most commonly asked questions about Ask ReachOut, ReachOut’s AI chatbot.
Getting started
What is Ask ReachOut and how does it work?
Ask ReachOut is an AI chatbot that provides instant access to reliable and safe mental health information. It’s free, anonymous and available 24/7.
Share what’s going on for you in your own words, and Ask Reachout will provide relevant and personalised information from ReachOut’s library of more than 600 evidence-informed resources.
Ask ReachOut features a custom-built Care Layer, a system that ensures you’re accessing reliable information and that your conversation is safe and private. While many AI products scan the entire internet (including unverified, and possibly harmful, information), Ask ReachOut will only draw on ReachOut’s professionally reviewed support content to formulate its answers. It will also recognise and scrub personal details to make sure your conversation stays anonymous and your data stays secure. Finally, if the Care Layer detects that you’re at risk, it will automatically step in and guide you towards Urgent Help or emergency services.
Like all AI-powered chats, Ask ReachOut can make mistakes. If you get a response that doesn’t seem right, let us know using the flag icon on the right side of the chat box.
Who is Ask ReachOut for?
Young people in Australia aged 14–25. If you’re a parent or carer looking for support for yourself or your child, visit ReachOut Parents. Teachers and educators can find classroom resources, information and support at ReachOut Schools.
What can I ask about?
Ask ReachOut covers a wide range of topics, including relationships, study stress, identity, confidence building, and much more. Its core function is to use information from our library of mental health and wellbeing resources to help you understand what you’re experiencing and to offer relevant support options. This includes connecting you to services where you can get help from real people, such as ReachOut’s PeerChat or Orygen’s MOST.
Ask ReachOut isn’t a counsellor, therapist or companion AI. It can’t give you mental health or medical diagnoses, recommend specific services in your area, or give you definitive advice on your personal situation.
AI chatbots aren’t designed to understand the complexity and nuances of every situation, so if a conversation has become too complex or unsafe for Ask ReachOut to support you effectively, it may end the conversation and point you to a real person who can help you. See What happens if I disclose that I’m at risk of harm?
If you’re looking for a mental health diagnosis, start by speaking to a GP, or visit Medicare Mental Health to connect with professional support.
How can I give feedback or report a problem?
To give feedback or report a technical issue, select the thumbs-up or thumbs-down icon on the left side of the chat box, then leave your comments or questions in the text field.
If you get a response that isn’t what you’re expecting, or you want to report an incorrect or inappropriate response, use the flag icon on the right side of the chat box.
How it works
What AI platform does Ask ReachOut use?
Ask ReachOut is powered by Gemini, Google’s Large Language Model (LLM).
How does Ask ReachOut understand how to help me?
Ask ReachOut uses conversational AI to analyse what you’ve written and to suggest practical options for next steps.
It’s crucial for us to involve young people in the development and improvement of Ask ReachOut. Using codesign workshops and user testing, and more than 10,000 real user queries from our Ask ReachOut pilot tool, we’re continuously seeking your insights and opinions in shaping this tool’s understanding. Your ongoing involvement helps us to deliver meaningful support.
How is ReachOut using AI ethically?
It’s important to us that Ask ReachOut is a human-centred, efficient and safe service that benefits our audience and aligns with ReachOut’s values.
One of the reasons we’ve chosen Google Gemini to power Ask ReachOut is Google’s commitment to developing energy-efficient technologies and sustainability practices to reduce their energy and water use and carbon emissions. See Google’s 2025 Environmental Report for more information about their sustainability strategy.
Ask ReachOut has been designed to get you to the information you’re looking for in as few steps as possible. In-built restrictions, such as chat limits, help you to find answers quickly and reduce environmental impact.
Safety and privacy
Is Ask ReachOut anonymous?
Yes. Ask ReachOut doesn’t require you to log in, and personal data protection ensures that your session is secure. For your own peace of mind, we strongly recommend that you don’t share your real name or location in the chat.
We do keep anonymised records of your conversations. We do this to improve the user experience and to understand what’s important to young people in Australia so that we can provide better support. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.
What happens if I disclose that I’m at risk of harm?
If you disclose that you are at risk, an automatic response will trigger, directing you to the appropriate services, and your session will end. We do this to help you connect with a real person sooner and to help keep you safe.
In rare circumstances, where personal information is provided and there is a serious threat to safety, we may need to disclose information to child protection agencies or the police, as outlined in our Privacy Policy.
Ask ReachOut isn’t intended to be a crisis service. It isn’t designed to understand and respond to risk in the same way a human can.
If you want to talk to someone right now, you can find crisis support options on our Urgent Help page.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call emergency services on 000.
How do I talk to a real person at ReachOut?
To access mental health support from a real person at ReachOut, you can chat for free with a PeerChat peer worker. PeerChat is available for people aged 16–25 in Australia, Monday to Thursday, 3-8 pm, and on Friday, 11.30 am-4.30 pm.