Schools and districts are deploying AI‑enabled mental‑health platforms to stretch limited counseling capacity, but the tools raise procedural and clinical questions. Counselors report that automated chat platforms can surface high‑risk alerts and connect students to clinicians after hours, yet staff must manage false positives, data privacy, and parental notification protocols. Concurrently, national survey data shows loneliness remains widespread among college students and links strongly to belonging, institutional trust, and mental‑health outcomes. Campus leaders must reconcile new digital triage tools with investments in human counselors, clear reporting protocols, and community‑building strategies to address both crisis detection and chronic loneliness.