Character.AI

Character.AI is one of the largest AI platforms in the world with over 200 million users — making it second only to ChatGPT in global AI chat usage. Founded by former Google Brain researchers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, it lets users chat with thousands of pre-built AI characters or create their own with custom personalities, backstories and conversational styles.

The platform is primarily used for creative roleplay, interactive fiction, language practice and entertainment. Unlike general-purpose assistants, Character.AI characters stay in character throughout long conversations, making them ideal for immersive storytelling and creative writing partners. The free tier provides unlimited chat with all public characters, while the c.ai+ subscription removes generation delays and unlocks higher-quality responses.

Character.AI is especially popular with younger audiences and writers. Its memory system allows characters to remember context across sessions, and the creator tools let anyone publish a custom character to the public library — which now contains millions of community-built personas ranging from historical figures to fictional universes.