Character.AI Introduces Group Chat Feature: Users Can Interact with Multiple AI Characters Simultaneously
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Character.AI, an AI chatbot startup founded by former Google AI researchers and backed by a16z, today introduced a new feature for its subscribers. The chatbot platform offers customizable AI companions with unique personalities and tools, now providing a group chat experience where users and their friends can simultaneously interact with multiple AI characters.
Image from Character.aiThe feature, called Character Group Chat, allows users to create a group chat consisting solely of their favorite AI characters or a mix of humans and AI companions, the company stated. The idea is that users will be able to build social connections with friends, share ideas, and collaborate in real-time, just like in any other group chat experience, but now with their AI companions included.
The company suggests users could try having AI scientists and thinkers like Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Nikola Tesla, and Stephen Hawking chat together, or create a group chat featuring gods such as Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon.
For more practical use cases, you can start a group chat with friends around a topic or theme, such as travel, gaming, book clubs, or role-playing, and then invite an AI companion to help facilitate and enhance these conversations.
The idea of adding AI chatbots to group chats is not unique to Character.AI. Snapchat's My AI chatbot can be added to group chats via the @myai command, while Meta recently introduced several new AI-based bots in its apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram DMs, featuring celebrity-based bots like Mr. Beast, Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, Charli D'Amelio, Snoop Dog, and others. The latter was announced at the Meta Connect conference in late September, posing a potential threat to Character.AI. Earlier this year, Character.AI raised up to $150 million in Series A funding for its concept of AI companions.
However, Character.AI's new group chat experience will not be free. Instead, the feature will first be available to C.ai+ subscribers for feedback and improvements. C.ai+ is the startup's $9.99 monthly subscription plan, offering perks like skipping wait times, faster message generation, and access to dedicated community channels for feedback and support. The company stated that the feature will later be made available to the public.
At launch, the group chat feature will only be available on Character.AI's mobile apps for iOS and Android, with a web version to follow.
The company's app reportedly surpassed 500,000 installations within the first six days of its launch and is said to be catching up to ChatGPT in terms of user numbers in the U.S.
Market intelligence provider data.ai's third-party data shows that this application has nearly 30 million monthly active users globally, with approximately 7 million users in the United States. The company estimates its total in-app purchase revenue at $1.3 million, but since c.ai+ is sold online, this does not provide a complete picture of its total revenue.