I wouldn't call it horrifying because here in this context it's to protect kids (and Disney's brand of course) but I think this is similar to the situation of mobile games like Call of Duty mobile, where probably more than half of ranked games are played with you alone in a lobby full of bots with real-looking usernames (no other human playing) and because it's played mostly on smartphones, barely anyone uses text chat, so not many realize they are playing with bots until they get to high ranks where it becomes obvious that some games you get crushed by everyone, and some games you get 30 kills without dying and you get a tactical nuke, when you're supposed to be in the top 5% ranked.
Dead internet, everywhere. I'm not even sure why there are bots in ranked, since so many people play this game, I don't think this was made because you get longer wait times to find opponents in higher ranks. Maybe to make you feel better about your skill level.
They even lied about it in community updates:
Since release we have seen many different inquiries of all types about Bots in Multiplayer and Battle Royale. We know you all have a great many questions about this, so let’s talk about Bots. We added bots into Call of Duty: Mobile to provide a way for new players to grow, learn, and thrive without the constant threat of a full team of higher level & more experienced players continually dominating them.
They still provide a challenge while allowing you to learn the ins & outs of levels, test out new builds or weapons, and gradually increase your skill. Bots are not present in Ranked matches and in other modes as you grow in skill, you’ll see fewer and fewer bots present. We appreciate all of feedback surrounding this and we will be looking to improve those systems throughout the lifespan of the game.