Chatbot as an emergency exist: Mediated empathy for resilience via human-AI interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic

•Empathy work as a key mechanism of information processing in human-AI interaction.•Five types of Replika experiences among Chinese female users are found.•Varying degrees of cognitive empathy, affective empathy and empathic response are involved in human-AI interaction.•Mediated empathy facilitates resilience processes and enhance well-being.•Implications for global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.