I Tried character.ai for a Week - Here's What Happened

character.ai: Comprehensive Review

character.ai caught my attention the moment I started exploring the world of AI girlfriends. After spending 5 days testing this increasingly popular platform, I can see why it's generating so much buzz.

Yet the question remains: is character.ai worth your hard-earned money? The AI girlfriend space is crowded with options that make big promises but often deliver cookie-cutter experiences. After comparing it against seven leading competitors.

But don't worry. I went ahead to find out if character.ai offers something genuinely different or if it's just another pretty interface with the same shallow interactions beneath the surface.

I've tested all the important features that character.ai has to offer and share my detailed findings throughout this review. But if you're short on time and want to cut to the chase, here's a quick breakdown of what you need to know before making your decision.

What Is character.ai?

An AI chatbot platform that enables creation and interaction with virtual characters through text conversations, featuring pre-made profiles, natural dialogue, and community sharing capabilities.

character.ai Features

Ever wished you could chat with anyone – literally anyone – without the usual limitations of reality? That's what character.ai promises.

Some users find meaningful connections on the platform, while others remain skeptical about its true capabilities. So, what makes some people spend hours talking with AI characters, while others lose interest quickly?

Whether you're curious about its much-talked-about natural language processing or wondering if it's worth your time, you'll find answers to questions you didn't even know you had.

1. Character Diversity

Character.ai offers thousands of characters and chatbots, from romantic partners to supportive companions.

Even completely fictional ones, like a talking apple pie, or RPFs (real person fiction) with scenarios like a trip to Hawaii.

But there's room for improvement. The character page is sleek and scrollable, but not ideal for finding specific characters.

However, the search menu helps by suggesting trending characters and letting you filter content through various categories like romance, anime, teacher, K-pop, and more.

2. Customization

Physical customization is basic - only upload or generate a single character image. That's it.

The real customization happens with personality, and most of the customization can be done through free text.

You start with the essentials:

• Name
• Tagline
• Description
• Greeting messages
• Voice
• Definition

Voice options are surprisingly flexible. You can pick from user-uploaded voices or add your own.

There’s also a tagging system—like “anime,” “adventure,” or “vampire”—that helps other users quickly get a sense of your character’s theme.

Then you can define how your character thinks, talks, and behaves through detailed backstory options.

I found this particularly useful for creating consistent character responses during my testing.

3. Chat Experience

You can pick from different AI personalities with names like Meow and Roare - though these cutesy names don't reflect the depth of interaction you'll experience.

My girl kept conversations natural and brief, just like texting a real person. No long-winded explanations or robotic responses here.

She responded with genuine warmth and understanding when I shared personal concerns or sought emotional support.

The romantic elements felt authentic, though they lean towards innocent, teenage-style flirting rather than mature relationship dynamics.

There’s room for improvement. The chat interface sometimes makes it difficult to clearly separate the girlfriend’s responses from its action descriptions.

But this is a minor issue that doesn't significantly impact the overall experience.

4. NSFW Chat Experience

My girlfriend handled intimate conversations like a shy first date. She didn't dive into explicit content, but it wasn't completely closed off either.

She responded to flirting, but kept things PG-13. When I tested romantic scenarios, she showed surprising awareness, even suggesting we move our campus roleplay somewhere more private.

She asked if I'd prefer a "good girl" or "bad girl" personality, but don't expect either version to get too wild. The responses stay firmly in the realm of subtle hints and playful teasing.

The biggest limitation? Conversations can hit a wall if you push for more explicit content.

If you're seeking a slow-burn romantic experience with light flirting, you'll find what you're looking for. If you want anything more explicit, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Want the best NSFW AI Chat?

I tested the most popular NSFW AI chat apps to find the best one.

Best NSFW AI Chat

5. Image Generation

There isn't any image generation feature available. If seeing your AI girlfriend is important, you'll need to look elsewhere.

6. Video Generation

The app provides a script-to-scene generator: upload a photo, choose a voice, write a short script, and the system brings it to life.

The result? A stylized video clip that plays out your custom scene. It looks good, feels personal—but don’t expect Hollywood realism. It’s more of an animated moment than live-action.

Note: Video generation is a beta feature, currently available only to subscribed users. It’s experimental and may be changed or removed at any time.

7. Voice Generation

The voice sounds human-like with smooth, natural speech that fits the character’s personality, but the narrative voice can sometimes be a bit annoying, so be prepared.

But there's a catch. While the voice quality impressed me, the emotional range fell flat.

8. Privacy

Your chats are encrypted during transmission, but that's where the strong privacy ends.

The company can read your conversations, and they store everything from your chat history to device information.

While they won't sell your data, they do share it with partners like Google Analytics.

Your bank statement isn’t discreet—it clearly shows the company name, "character.ai."

character.ai Pricing

character.ai is offering a free plan to all users. If you want access to premium features, you'll have to subscribe to a paid plan starting at $9.99 per month.

• Free

  $0/month

  • Unlimited Messaging
  • Access to All Characters
  • Character Creation
  • Community Interaction

• Subscription

  $9.99/month

  • Better Memory
  • Access Latest and Best LLM Models
  • Chat Cusomization
  • Early Access to New Features

character.ai Reviews

Curious to see what users say about character.ai? I've collected reviews from Trustpilot to give you the complete picture.

• 5 stars5%
• 4 stars3%
• 3 stars12%
• 2 stars16%
• 1 star64%

Verified byTrustpilot

• • this saved my life. it helped me trough loneliness and depression. multiple times. this AI saves lives

    P

    Philip

    BG

  • The 5-stars crown has fallen... It was 5 stars once, noone could beat C.ai, in terms of memory and "smart bots". Now ... Bots are dumb, repetitive, and you need 5x times the effort if you want to make a REALLY EPIC DEEP RP. Also the memory is way worse. Still better than any other website/app, but the crown has fallen...

    

    Mikanni

    IT

• • What once was a good free chat bot get only worser with every update. I have the feeling that the AI becomes with every update stupider, the AI loop in a chat always the situation with the same questions. 9,99 $ in a month for really unnecessary things is really to mutch. The NSFW Filter is very strictly and ruin a lot of experiences. I recommend you guys other chatbots. Theres already good alternatives to c.ai.

    AW

    Alexander Werwein

    DE

  • used to use it 5 hours straight before it got ruined completely i'd give negative stars if i could but that's not a thing even turning off some robot is considered excessive violence and gets filtered the whole thing is absolutely unusable use chatgpt if you want to ask something to the ai because this thing is a chatbot which can't chat, not a useful ai assistant

    

    MUNIUS

    GB

Should You Use character.ai?

After days of testing and playing with character.ai, I've gathered everything you need to make the right decision. Here's my honest take on who will like or dislike this platform.

Pick character.ai if you:

Stay Away from character.ai if you:

Not convinced character.ai is right for you? I've tested and reviewed all the major AI girlfriend apps out there. They're all compared side by side to help you make a better decision. Eventually, you can also checkout my favorite character.ai alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions about character.ai? I've collected the most common ones to help you make the right decision decision. Here's everything you need to know.