Character AI: everything you need to know

A billion-dollar valuation and a collaboration with Amazon - not every start-up can introduce itself with those credentials just a year after launch, but Character.AI can.

Taking the internet by storm since September 2022, Character AI is one of the most popular and well-used large language models available online. Anything can be a character on Character.AI; you can generate fictional characters to debate with, peruse life advice from a virtual psychologist, and even learn English online from the perfect American teacher.

But what exactly is Character.AI, and what does it do? Who's using it, and why has it been so successful over the last few years? In this article, we delve into the advanced creation tools behind Character.AI and how you can start chatting with your favorite personalities online.

What is character AI?

According to Wikipedia, Character.AI is 'a neural language model chatbot service that can generate human-like text responses and participate in contextual conversation.'

So, what does this mean?

In a nutshell, character.AI is an AI chat program that feels alive. The 'characters' have distinct personalities, behaviors, and voices. Even though Character.AI is just a series of computer programs, it (almost) feels like you're interacting with a real person as you receive real-time responses that answer questions, engage in conversation, or tell a story.

While ChatGPT is also a large language model chatbot, it's designed to be informative rather than entertaining. ChatGPT can certainly write responses to your questions or spin captivating stories based on prompts, but what it doesn't do is provide a personality or a backstory. If you ask ChatGPT who it is, it says something like this:

However, when you ask your favorite character in Character.AI the same, it won't break the fourth wall, remaining in character throughout.

ChatGPT and Character.AI are both free to use. You can enjoy unlimited free messaging with chatbots that answer questions or act as your favorite characters. Like OpenAI's premium feature, you can upgrade to C.AI+, which gives you priority access to chats during peak times and faster responses.

How can I use Character.AI?

If you are looking at Character AI and thinking about starting a business or just playing around with the tool yourself, it's easy to get started!

Simply navigate to Character.AI, choose a chatbot, and type a message.

When you open the site, the most-frequently-chatted-with characters will appear first, but you can use the search bar to search for keywords. You can discover millions of characters and possibilities on the site, from 'everything characters' to historical figures, fictional characters, or even famous political spoofs.

You can also use Character.AI's own proprietary technology to create your own AI character, too. Whether you dream of bringing an anime character to life or want a direct line to your favorite celebrity, it's all possible here. You could even take it a step further, using other AI tools like ElevenLabs and Midjourney, to bring your character to life.

Who's using this type of technology?

Yet, that's the magic of all this: that the characters can be cool, annoying, funny, or just a bit weird. Character.AI is a playground for the wild and wonderful internet to show off, creating bizarre feature requests and hilarious personalities that must be experienced to be believed. In the world of Character.AI, your imagination is the only limit.

Who knows what the future will hold for Character.AI use cases? From making business contact easier to providing the basis for future ads, the possibilities are endless.

Final thoughts

The emerging role of AI is fascinating, and it seems to have happened all at once, with big players like ChatGPT, Character.AI and ElevenLabs storming the scene only in the last few years.

Now, you can create AI characters, develop a new language, or casually chat with a specific historical character, all using this new, innovative technology from the safety of your computer screen.

Start experimenting with Character.AI today, and let your imagination run wild!