People will prefer the bots that give them head pats and tell them they're so smart and that they love them
Especially considering the fact that it seems more the case that the bigger stop-gap is what we already have:
In asian (especially Japan) it's host(ess) clubs.
Globally for friends it's influencers exploiting loneliness.
Those are things I think has to go for people to embrace offline socialization or using their online time better.
People will prefer the bots that give them head pats and tell them they're so smart and that they love them