Updated Guidelines on Use of AI in Psychology
The AI Guidelines were originally published on the Board’s website in October 2024. The Board and the AI Advisory Group pledged to review the AI Guidelines annually due to the field of AI rapidly evolving and increasing in ubiquity.
The Board and the AI Advisory Group met in September 2025 to review the AI Guidelines. They noted that the AI Guidelines had generally received positive feedback and continue to be a useful Guideline for the field. Some amendments have been made to achieve the following:
- To update practitioners on the latest globally agreed upon definition of AI
- To further emphasise the need for practitioners to maintain accountability for any AI output that is used in the provision of psychological services and research
- To further emphasis that AI systems have knowledge but not understanding and outputs need to be reviewed by the practitioner to lessen the likelihood of bias and error
- To further clarify the expectations around the informed choice process when using AI with service users
While not all practitioners will choose to engage with AI, the Board and the AI Advisory group would encourage all practitioners to read the updated AI Guidelines – available by clicking HERE. AI is increasingly a ubiquitous part of society, and thus some basic understanding of the technology and its issues will be required for competent practice.
The Board wishes to sincerely thank the AI Advisory group (Rosie Dobson, Tom Nesser, Thomas Jenkin, Vijaya Dharan, Briony Pentecost, Desirēe Grant, Jessica Gu, Chris Neuenfeldt, Kobus Du Plooy), and NZPB Psychology Advisor Jane Freeman-Brown for facilitating this Group. The Board is grateful for the group’s generous giving of their time and considerable expertise in this area, for the purpose of assisting their fellow practitioners.