Alongside vs Thrive AI

Alongside is a wellness platform for K–12 schools, founded in 2022, with self-guided tools and clinician-built coaching chats. Its student service is designed for grades 4–12, while Alongside for Educators offers self-help resources for faculty and staff. Students can chat confidentially about challenges 24/7 and receive clinically informed techniques drawing on CBT, DBT, ACT and mindfulness. They can track moods, set goals, journal, watch mindfulness and social-skills videos, and complete personalized exercises covering more than 50 common issues, including friendships, self-esteem and anxiety. Schools can add universal mental health screeners and social-emotional competency assessments, and school and district dashboards report usage and student concerns. For detected suicidal ideation risk, the described response can involve a standard assessment, connection to 988, notification of school personnel and safety planning. Alongside says AI is not used for universal screening or crisis-severity assessment. It is available in a browser and through iOS and Android apps. The service is self-help, not therapy, medical advice, treatment or a crisis service; screening does not provide a diagnosis.

Thrive AI is a chatbot within the Saalvio mobile app, built around cognitive behavioural therapy techniques for everyday mental wellness. It supports reflection on feelings, brief conversational exercises, and noticing mood patterns, with suggested thought records, behavioural activation prompts, grounding techniques, and journaling cues. The maker describes use for anxious thoughts, stress, low mood, worries, and daily mood check-ins. The app is available for iPhone and Android in Canada and the United States, and its first language is English. The Free tier includes standard chat, while AI-guided exercises and end-of-exercise recommendations are on paid tiers. Saalvio Free costs nothing; Saalvio Basic is C$4.99 a month, Pro is C$9.99 a month, and Premium is C$14.99 a month, billed through Apple App Store or Google Play. The maker says conversations are encrypted in transit and at rest, not sold or shared with advertisers, and not used to train models. Users can export conversation history and mood tags, delete conversations, or close an account in the app. Thrive AI is not therapy or a crisis service and does not diagnose or prescribe; it surfaces crisis resources when it detects high-risk language.