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 word-of-mouth. (Duh?)

But that’s the new tension for product makers making their things more human-like.

Emotional “farewells” will buy short-term attention and boost engagement.

But the manipulative aspect risks long-term trust.

It’s like that clingy partner who won’t give you the space you need. You start paying attention to the exits.

The choice is NOT whether persuasion works. Clearly, it does.

The question is whether you’re willing to erode brand equity in the process.

If you’re building exit points into your product, ask: does this goodbye reinforce trust — or undermine it?

Want to make your product irresistible? That’s what we do as product marketing consultants at Graphos Product, helping innovators turn need-driven ideas into market-ready successes.