Abstract: [Purpose/Significance] AI search engines may provide new opportunities to improve the search effectiveness of mental health information. This study aims to clarify the impact of AI search engines on the search effectiveness of mental health information and reveal its key mechanisms involved. [Design/Methodology] The study conducted two virtual simulation experiments on mental health information search based on human-computer interaction. In experiment 1,126 college students were recruited to explore the impact of different types of search engines on the effectiveness of mental health information search. In experiment 2,146 college students were recruited to investigate the impact of the anthropomorphism and explainability of AI search engines on the effectiveness of mental health information search. [Findings/Conclusion] AI search engines have significantly improved the effectiveness of searching for mental health information.AI search engines with anthropomorphic and explainability features are even more effective in improving search results. Compared with the situation where there is no explanation, when an AI search engine with an anthropomorphic identity explains the content generation process, the information search results are better. [Originality/Value] This research provides a reference for optimizing generative AI search engines and offers recommendations for the application of AI in the field of mental health information searching.

Keywords: AI search engine, Mental health information, Search effectiveness, Anthropomorphism, Explainability