Character.AI

Character.AI is a chat platform built around AI personas: you talk to thousands of user-made characters, from fictional figures to helpers and companions, or build your own. It has long been one of the most-used consumer chat apps outside the big general-purpose assistants.

As of late September 2026, the platform's default chat style was PipSqueak 3, with ShortSqueak available on the free tier and DeepSqueak and LongSqueak reserved for paid plans. On October 12, 2026, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware to sell its assets; Disney has made an initial bid of $20 million for a non-exclusive license to some of its technology, and a sale is expected to close by late November or early December 2026.

Core capabilities include multi-turn roleplay and storytelling, custom character creation with personas and voices, voice calls, and tools for generating videos, stories and streams.

Pricing is freemium. The free plan offers unlimited messaging on PipSqueak 3 and ShortSqueak but shows ads. A (c.ai) lite tier costs $4.99 per month or $2.49 per week (price may vary by region) and adds a daily allowance of premium messages on DeepSqueak and LongSqueak, fewer ads, a less restrictive slow mode, extra customization and more memory pins. A higher c.ai+ tier promises unlimited premium chats, zero ads and full memory features, but its price could not be confirmed on a primary source. Paid subscriptions and the free tier are both reported to remain active during the bankruptcy process.

Significant limitations apply. Since November 25, 2025, users under 18 can no longer do open-ended chat or roleplay and are redirected to creating videos, stories and streams, with age assurance handled through the company's own in-house age-estimation tools. More urgently, the platform is currently under Chapter 11 bankruptcy and could be shut down entirely if no workable buyer emerges from the sale process; users are advised to export their chat data while the service remains operational.

It suits adults who want character-driven chat and roleplay, and creators building interactive personas and stories, but prospective users should be aware the platform's long-term survival is uncertain while the bankruptcy sale plays out. Minors and users wanting an unrestricted free experience should look elsewhere.