With Character.AI, people and AI can chat together in groups
Character.AI, backed by a16z, introduces Character Group Chat, allowing users to engage in conversations with multiple AI characters and friends. The feature is part of the $9.99/month c.ai+ subscription, with impressive initial user numbers and global reach.
Character.AI, the AI chatbot startup backed by a16z and founded by former Google AI researchers, has introduced an exciting new feature for its subscribers. This chatbot platform enables users to create personalized AI companions with unique personalities and provides tools for customization. The latest addition to Character.AI’s offerings is a group chat feature, allowing users and their friends to engage in conversations with multiple AI characters simultaneously.
Character.AI‘s latest feature, known as Character Group Chat, empowers users to create group chats that include their favorite AI characters, or a blend of both humans and AI companions. This innovative concept allows users to foster social connections with friends, share ideas, and collaborate in real time, enhancing the typical group chat experience with the inclusion of AI companions.
The possibilities are vast; users can have AI scientists and intellectuals engaging in conversation together, envisioning dialogues between figures like Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Nikola Tesla, and Stephen Hawking. Alternatively, they can create group chats with mythological gods such as Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon.
For more practical applications, users can establish group chats centered around specific topics or themes, be it travel, gaming, book clubs, or role-playing, and then invite AI companions to assist in facilitating and enriching these discussions.
It’s worth noting that integrating AI chatbots into group chats is not unique to Character.AI. Platforms like Snapchat have integrated their My AI chatbot into group chats, and Meta has introduced AI-powered bots across its apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram’s DMs. These bots even include celebrity-based options like Mr. Beast, Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, Charli D’Amelio, and Snoop Dog. However, Character.AI is determined to stand out and has secured substantial funding to support its AI companion concepts.
The Character Group Chat feature, however, won’t be available for free. Initially, it will be offered to c.ai+ subscribers for feedback and improvement. C.ai+ is Character.AI’s $9.99 per month subscription plan, providing perks like bypassing waiting queues, faster message generation, and exclusive community channels for support and feedback. The company plans to make the feature available to the general public in the future.
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At its launch, Character Group Chat is exclusive to the Character.AI mobile app on iOS and Android, with plans to expand to the web in the near future.
In its first six days of release, Character.AI’s app quickly garnered over half a million installations, making an impressive start. Notably, it’s gaining ground and competing with ChatGPT in the United States.
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According to data from a third-party market intelligence provider, data.ai, the app boasts an impressive user base, with nearly 30 million monthly active users worldwide, and a significant portion, around 7 million, within the United States. Additionally, the company has generated an estimated lifetime gross in-app purchase revenue of $1.3 million. It’s worth mentioning that while this figure is significant, it doesn’t provide a comprehensive view of the company’s overall revenue, as the c.ai+ subscription service is also available for purchase on the web.
