This isn't likely IMO. It's not like there's a robust API to find "lonely people" in the first place, and the difficulty in creating sympathetic people to talk to for a long period of time without slipping up once will be immensely hard. What if they want to voice chat, or play a video game?

Also, don't cults have a massive surplus of people-time as is? I get the feeling that, if I wanted to go and join a cult, it's not like they would tell me they were short-staffed and there was a waiting list.

More likely (and mundane) outcome is that people use it to create cheap online therapy services. Good ROI, clearly defined goals, very large addressable market, easier to find people willing to work on it.