Character AI: what is it, and how do you use it?

It's the quirky cousin of ChatGPT

Funmi Looi Somoye

Funmi Looi Somoye

Last Updated on

Character AI is an artificial intelligence app that allows you to access and interact with a bunch of AI-generated characters. Similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT you can chat with these AI bots freely online.

The characters are surprisingly human-like and fluid meaning you can really go to town with the conversations you have with them.

What makes Character AI unique is that users can create their own chatbot for others to enjoy. The platform allows you to generate new characters, shape their personalities and set specific parameters so they take on a certain persona.

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On the website, you’ll be able to find loads of useful chatbots such as interviewers, programming helpers and writing assistants. But, wait there’s more.

As you would expect, there are some fictional characters and ‘celebrities’ on the platform too. Under the ‘Famous’ tab you can find some high-profile people such as Albert Einstein, Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey.

What’s also pretty cool is that users can create group chats containing multiple characters. Not only are you able to chat with multiple characters at once, but they will also start chatting with each other.

For a bit of background, Character AI was created by ex-Google developers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas. The chatbots are based on neural language models and use machine learning to generate words to strike a conversation.

The platform is relatively new and it only made its debut in September of last year. You’ll be happy to hear that the platform is free to use and doesn’t require a registered account.

How to use Character AI?

Using Character AI is easy to do and you do not need to make an account to try the platform out. Here are the steps to get started:

  1. Head to beta.character.ai
  2. A pop-up ‘welcome’ window will appear introducing you to the platform. At this point click ‘accept’.
  3. Now you’re in! Click on a character you would like to talk to. There’s a lot to choose from here so be sure to make use of the character category tabs at the top of the window.
  4. Start chatting. Without a registered account you will be limited to how long you can chat with these characters. Making an account is easy and you can sign up using a Google or Facebook account, or by providing an email address.

Is Character.AI free?

Yes! Character AI is free to use. All you have to do is register a free account to gain access to Character AI’s chatbots.

Final Thoughts

Character AI seems like the fun, quirky cousin of ChatGPT. This platform is definitely suited for anyone who enjoys playing around with language models and is looking for new ways to customize chatbots.