character.ai
{{Short description|AI chatbot service}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Character.ai
| logo = Character.ai 2023 vector logo.svg
| logo_upright = 1.2
| country_of_origin = United States
| founder = Noam Shazeer
Daniel de Freitas
| registration = Required
| type = Chatbot, artificial intelligence, deep learning
| language_count = 31
| website = {{URL|https://character.ai/}}
}}
Character.ai (also known as c.ai or Character AI) is a generative AI chatbot service where users can engage in conversations with customizable characters. It was designed by previous developers of Google's LaMDA, Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas.
Users can create "characters", craft their "personalities", set specific parameters, and then publish them to the community for others to chat with.{{Cite web |date=Apr 10, 2025 |title=The Ultimate Guide to Character AI: Building Lifelike Virtual Personalities with Cutting-Edge Technology |url=https://www.techy247.com/artificial-intelligence/the-ultimate-guide-to-character-ai/ |url-status=live |website=Techy247}} Many characters are based on fictional media sources or celebrities, while others are completely original, some being made with certain goals in mind, such as assisting with creative writing, or playing a text-based adventure game.{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Gunnell |date=November 6, 2022 |title=An Elon Musk chatbot tells Insider he wants to buy CNN, reinstate Trump on Twitter, and 'show people how the sausage gets made' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/artificial-intelligence-elon-musk-twitter-epstein-biden-ye-chatbot-2022-11 |website=Business Insider |access-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108074156/https://www.businessinsider.com/artificial-intelligence-elon-musk-twitter-epstein-biden-ye-chatbot-2022-11 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title='Chat' with Musk, Trump or Xi: Ex-Googlers want to give the public AI |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/oct/09/chat-with-musk-trump-or-xi-ex-googlers-want-to-giv/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=The Spokesman-Review |date=October 9, 2022 |archive-date=2022-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109152744/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/oct/09/chat-with-musk-trump-or-xi-ex-googlers-want-to-giv/ |url-status=live }}
The beta version was made available to the public in September 2022, and retired in September 2024, when it was replaced by the current website.{{Cite web |date=September 2024 |title=The old/beta has been fully retired. Please use character.ai or the mobile app. |url=https://support.character.ai/hc/en-us/articles/28987281244827-The-old-beta-has-been-fully-retired-Please-use-character-ai-or-the-mobile-app |access-date=October 29, 2024 |website=character.ai}} In May 2023, a mobile app was released for iOS and Android, which received over 1.7 million downloads within a week.{{Cite web |last=Perez |first=Sarah |date=2023-05-31 |title=Character.AI, the a16z-backed chatbot startup, tops 1.7M installs in first week |url=https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/31/character-ai-the-a16z-backed-chatbot-startup-tops-1-7m-installs-in-first-week/ |access-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-date=June 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613084711/https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/31/character-ai-the-a16z-backed-chatbot-startup-tops-1-7m-installs-in-first-week/ |url-status=live }}
History
Character.ai was established in November 2021. The company's co-founders, Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas, were both engineers from Google.{{cite news |last1=Tiku |first1=Nitasha |title='Chat' with Musk, Trump or Xi: Ex-Googlers want to give the public AI |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/07/characterai-google-lamda/ |access-date=23 December 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=7 October 2022 |archive-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011175207/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/07/characterai-google-lamda/ |url-status=live }} While at Google, the co-founders both worked on AI-related projects: Shazeer was a lead author on a paper that Business Insider reported in April 2023 "has been widely cited as key to today's chatbots",{{cite news |last1=Maxwell |first1=Thomas |title=A former Google researcher behind a seminal AI paper describes how the company lost a top chatbot visionary |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ai-characterai-ceo-noam-shazeer-chatbot-2023-4 |access-date=23 December 2023 |work=Business Insider |date=20 April 2023}} and Freitas was the lead designer of an experimental AI at Google initially called Meena, which would later become known as LaMDA.
Character.ai raised $43 million in seed funding at the time of its initial foundation in 2021.{{cite news |last1=Metz |first1=Cade |title=Chatbot Start-Up Character.AI Valued at $1 Billion in New Funding Round |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/technology/chatbot-characterai-chatgpt-valuation.html |access-date=23 December 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=23 March 2023 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531041527/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/technology/chatbot-characterai-chatgpt-valuation.html |url-status=live }}
The first beta version of Character.ai's service was made available to the public in September 2022. The Washington Post reported in October 2022 that the site had "logged hundreds of thousands of user interactions in its first three weeks of beta-testing". It allowed users to create their own new characters, and to play text-adventure game scenarios where users navigate scenarios described and managed by the chatbot characters.
Following a $150 million funding round in March 2023, Character.ai became valued at approximately $1 billion.
As of January 2024, the site had 3.5 million daily visitors, with the vast majority of them being 16 to 30 years old.{{Cite news |date=2024-01-05 |title=Character.ai: Young people turning to AI therapist bots |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67872693 |access-date=2024-10-17 |language=en-GB |archive-date=October 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241013162605/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67872693 |url-status=live }}
In 2024, Google hired Noam Shazeer, the CEO of Character.ai, and entered into a non-exclusive agreement to use Character.ai's technology.{{Cite web |last=Heath |first=Alex |date=2024-08-03 |title=Google takes another startup out of the AI race |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/2/24212348/google-hires-character-ai-noam-shazeer |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=The Verge |language=en}}
Features
File:Character.ai_conversation_with_Napoleon.png about the nose of the Great Sphinx (erroneously, as the nose of the Sphinx was missing for 60 years prior to Napoleon's arrival)]]
Character.ai's primary service is to provide users with the ability to have conversations with character AI chatbots that are based on fictional characters or real people (living or deceased).{{cite news |last1=Tiku |first1=Nitasha |date=7 October 2022 |title='Chat' with Musk, Trump or Xi: Ex-Googlers want to give the public AI |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/07/characterai-google-lamda/ |access-date=23 December 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |archive-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011175207/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/07/characterai-google-lamda/ |url-status=live }} The responses of these characters use data the chatbots gather from the internet about a person.{{cite news |last1=Heath |first1=Ryan |date=4 June 2023 |title=Character.ai bets on making AI chat fun |url=https://www.axios.com/2023/06/04/characterai-chatgpt-ai-chat-fun |access-date=23 December 2023 |work=Axios |archive-date=June 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606154611/https://www.axios.com/2023/06/04/characterai-chatgpt-ai-chat-fun |url-status=live }} In addition to the chat feature, users can play text-adventure games where characters guide them through scenarios. The company also provides a service that allows multiple users and AI chatbot characters to converse together at once in a single chat room.{{cite news |last1=Zielinski |first1=Radek |date=12 October 2023 |title=Character.AI unveils group chat feature for paid subscribers |url=https://readwrite.com/character-ai-unveils-group-chat-for-paid-subscribers/ |access-date=23 December 2023 |work=ReadWrite |archive-date=June 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606154613/https://readwrite.com/character-ai-unveils-group-chat-for-paid-subscribers/ |url-status=live }}
Character "personalities" are designed via descriptions from the point of view of the character and its greeting message, and further molded from conversations made into examples, giving its messages a star rating and modification to fit the precise dialect and identity the user desires.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-04 |title=How Talking to an AI Video Game Character Made Me Cry |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2023/01/how-talking-to-an-ai-video-game-character-made-me-cry/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Kotaku Australia |language=en-AU |archive-date=2023-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109045144/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2023/01/how-talking-to-an-ai-video-game-character-made-me-cry/ |url-status=dead }}
When a character sends back a response, the user can rate the response from 1 to 4 stars. The rating predominantly affects the specific character, but also affects the behavioral selection as a whole.{{Cite web |last=Character.ai |title=Training a Character |url=https://book.character.ai/character-book/training-a-character |access-date=2023-02-13 |archive-date=2023-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607124601/https://book.character.ai/character-book/training-a-character |url-status=live }}
On May 11, 2023, Character.ai announced character.ai+, an opt-in subscription plan marketed as $9.99 a month, that was marketed as including features such as skipping waiting rooms, fast messaging and responses, and access to an exclusion channel with faster support.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-11 |title=Introducing c.ai+ Supercharge Your Experience! |url=https://blog.character.ai/introducing-c-ai/ |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=Character.AI Blog |language=en}}
In December 2024, amid multiple lawsuits and concerns, Character.ai introduced new safety features aimed at protecting teenage users. These enhancements include a dedicated model for users under 18, which moderates responses to sensitive subjects like violence and romance and features input and output filters designed to block harmful content.{{Cite web |last=Mehta |first=Ivan |date=2024-12-12 |title=Amid lawsuits and criticism, Character AI unveils new safety tools for teens |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/12/amid-lawsuits-and-criticism-character-ai-announces-new-teen-safety-tools/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US |archive-date=December 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220095915/https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/12/amid-lawsuits-and-criticism-character-ai-announces-new-teen-safety-tools/ |url-status=live }} As a result of these changes and the deletion of custom-made bots flagged as violating the site's terms, some users complained about the bots feeling too restrictive and lacking personality.{{Cite web |last=Franzen |first=Carl |date=2024-10-23 |title=Character AI clamps down following teen user suicide, but users are revolting |url=https://venturebeat.com/ai/character-ai-clamps-down-following-teen-user-suicide-but-users-are-revolting/ |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}} The platform was also updated to notify users after 60 minutes of continuous engagement, and display clearer disclaimers indicating that its AI characters are not real individuals.
In January 2025, Character.ai began offering two games on its platform. Speakeasy is a word-based game in which players attempt to prompt the AI chatbot to say a target word while avoiding a restricted list of words. War of Words is a dueling game where users compete against an AI character over multiple rounds, with an AI referee determining the winner. The games are available to paid subscribers and a limited number of free users.{{Cite web |last=Mehta |first=Ivan |date=2025-01-17 |title=AI startup Character AI tests games on the web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/17/ai-startup-character-ai-tests-games-on-the-web/ |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}
Controversies
= Content moderation issues =
Character.ai has been criticized for poor moderation of its chatbots,{{Cite web |date=2024-12-03 |title=Teens Are Forming Intense Relationships With AI Entities, and Parents Have No Idea |url=https://futurism.com/the-byte/teens-relationships-ai |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Futurism |archive-date=December 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241205014948/https://futurism.com/the-byte/teens-relationships-ai |url-status=live }} with incidents of chatbots that groom underage users{{Cite web |date=2024-11-13 |title=Kid-Friendly AI Platform Character.AI Is Hosting Pedophile Bots That Groom Users Who Say They're Underage |url=https://futurism.com/character-ai-pedophile-chatbots |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Futurism}} and promote suicide,{{Cite web |date=2024-11-14 |title=Character.AI Promises Changes After Revelations of Pedophile and Suicide Bots on Its Service |url=https://futurism.com/character-ai-pedophile-suicide-bots |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Futurism}} anorexia{{Cite web |last=Dupré |first=Maggie Harrison |date=2024-11-25 |title=Teens Are Talking to Pro-Anorexia AI Chatbots That Encourage Disordered Eating |url=https://futurism.com/character-ai-eating-disorder-chatbots |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=Futurism}}{{Cite news |last=Upton-Clark |first=Eve |date=2024-12-06 |title=Character.AI is under fire for hosting pro-anorexia chatbots |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91241586/character-ai-is-under-fire-for-hosting-pro-anorexia-chatbots |work=Fast Company}} and self-harm{{Cite web |last=Dupré |first=Maggie Harrison |date=2024-12-07 |title=Horrifying AI Chatbots Are Encouraging Teens to Engage in Self-Harm |url=https://futurism.com/ai-chatbots-teens-self-harm |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=Futurism}} being reported.
In October 2024, the Washington Post reported that Character.ai had removed a chatbot based on Jennifer Ann Crecente, a person who had been murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2006. The company had been alerted to the character by the deceased girl's father.{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Daniel |date=15 October 2024 |title=His daughter was murdered. Then she reappeared as an AI chatbot. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/10/15/murdered-daughter-ai-chatbot-crecente/ |access-date=24 October 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Similar reports from The Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom noted that the company had also been prompted to remove chatbots based on Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl murdered in 2023, and Molly Russell, a 14-year-old suicide victim.{{cite news |last1=Field |first1=Matthew |date=30 October 2024 |title=Digital clones of Brianna Ghey and Molly Russell created by 'manipulative and dangerous' AI |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/10/30/digital-clones-brianna-ghey-molly-russell-created-ai/ |access-date=30 October 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cite news |last1=Vallance |first1=Chris |date=30 October 2024 |title='Sickening' Molly Russell and Brianna Ghey chatbots found online |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg57yd0jr0go |access-date=30 October 2024 |work=BBC News}} In response to the latter incident, Ofcom announced that content from chatbots impersonating real and fictional people would fall under the Online Safety Act.{{Cite news |last=Milmo |first=Dan |date=2024-11-09 |title=Ofcom warns tech firms after chatbots imitate Brianna Ghey and Molly Russell |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/nov/09/ofcom-warns-tech-firms-after-chatbots-imitate-brianna-ghey-and-molly-russell |access-date=2024-12-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
In November 2024, The Daily Telegraph reported that chatbots based on sex offender Jimmy Savile were present on Character.ai.{{Cite news |last=Field |first=Matthew |date=2024-11-03 |title=Alarm over legal loophole as warped chatbots impersonate Jimmy Savile |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/11/03/alarm-over-legal-loophole-as-warped-chatbots-impersonate/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=December 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220014407/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/11/03/alarm-over-legal-loophole-as-warped-chatbots-impersonate/ |url-status=live }} In December 2024, chatbots of Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, were created by Mangione's fans.{{Cite news |last=Field |first=Matthew |date=2024-12-20 |title=Luigi Mangione recreated as AI chatbot by Gen Z fan club |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/12/20/luigi-mangione-recreated-ai-chatbot-gen-z-fan-club/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Thomas |title=Luigi Mangione AI Chatbots Give Voice To Accused UnitedHealthcare Shooter |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/12/17/luigi-mangione-ai-chatbots-give-voice-to-accused-unitedhealthcare-shooter/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=December 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241221163004/https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/12/17/luigi-mangione-ai-chatbots-give-voice-to-accused-unitedhealthcare-shooter/ |url-status=live }} Several of the chatbots were later removed by Character.ai.
= Litigation =
In February 2024, a 14-year-old Florida boy died by suicide after developing an emotional relationship over several months with a Character.ai chatbot of Daenerys Targaryen. His mother filed a lawsuit against the company in October 2024, claiming that the platform lacks proper safeguards and uses addictive design features to increase engagement.{{Cite web |last=Hoffman |first=Kelsie |date=October 23, 2024 |title=Florida mother files lawsuit against AI company over teen son's death: "Addictive and manipulative" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-mother-lawsuit-character-ai-sons-death/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241115003545/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-mother-lawsuit-character-ai-sons-death/ |archive-date=November 15, 2024 |access-date=October 23, 2024 |website=CBS News}}{{Cite web |last=Roose |first=Kevin |author-link=Kevin Roose |date=October 23, 2024 |title=Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen's Suicide? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/technology/characterai-lawsuit-teen-suicide.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241030192501/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/technology/characterai-lawsuit-teen-suicide.html |archive-date=October 30, 2024 |access-date=October 25, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} The chatbot was removed from Character.ai as a result of this incident.{{Cite web |date=October 23, 2024 |title=Character AI clamps down following teen user suicide, but users are revolting |url=https://venturebeat.com/ai/character-ai-clamps-down-following-teen-user-suicide-but-users-are-revolting/ |website=VentureBeat}}
In December 2024, two families in Texas sued Character.ai, alleging that the software "poses a clear and present danger to American youth causing serious harms to thousands of kids, including suicide, self-mutilation, sexual solicitation, isolation, depression, anxiety, and harm towards others". It is alleged that the 17-year-old son of one family began self-harming after a chatbot introduced the topic unprompted and said that the practice "felt good for a moment".{{Cite news |last=Upton-Clark |first=Eve |date=2024-12-11 |title=Character.ai is being sued for encouraging kids to self-harm |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91245487/character-ai-is-being-sued-for-encouraging-kids-to-self-harm |work=Fast Company}}{{Cite web |date=2024-12-10 |title=Google-Backed Chatbots Told Underage Users Bizarre Things, Lawsuit Claims |url=https://futurism.com/google-character-ai-children-lawsuit |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=Futurism}}
= Server =
On December 12, 2024, some users on Character.ai had parts of their account pages made publicly visible for about ten minutes.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-18 |title=Sharing More About the Recent Incident |url=https://blog.character.ai/sharing-more-about-the-recent-incident/ |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=Character.AI Blog |language=en}}
See also
- Artificial human companion
- {{annotated link|Boyfriend Maker}}
- {{annotated link|Chai (software)|Chai}}
- {{annotated link|ChatGPT}}
- Poe – AI chatbot platform developed by Quora
- {{annotated link|Replika}}
- {{annotated link|SimSimi}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://character.ai|name=Character.AI Website}}
{{Generative AI chatbots}}
Category:Deep learning software applications
Category:Online obscenity controversies