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Character.AI

closed / Overall score: 4.1(strong)

Consumer chat product built around user-created AI characters. Users design characters with their own personas and hold text or voice conversations with them, and the app carries a large library of characters other users have published. It is aimed at storytelling, roleplay and conversational entertainment. Character Technologies, Inc. publishes it.

Openness

1 high confidence

1.0

license: proprietary(SaaS)
source: closed
self-host: none
models: own+licensed(closed)

A proprietary consumer chat app: the closed counterpart to the open chat interfaces in this category.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/character-ai-ai-chat-talk/id1671705818 recorded 2026-09-29
App Store listing names the seller "Character Technologies, Inc." and licenses the app under Apple's standard end-user agreement: "EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/". Searched the body for self-host, on-prem, open source and source code: none.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.character.app recorded 2026-09-29
Google Play listing offered by "Character Technologies, Inc." as an installable app only. Searched the body for self-host, on-prem, open source and source code: none.

Adoption

5 low confidence

5.0

Character.AI does not publish an active-user figure. The Google Play listing shows an install count for Android only, and the active-user and download estimates come from a single third-party aggregator.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.character.app recorded 2026-09-29
Google Play listing carries a "50M+" Downloads badge on the app offered by "Character Technologies, Inc.".
https://www.businessofapps.com/data/character-ai-statistics/ recorded 2026-09-29
Aggregator profile: "character.ai had 45 million active users in September 2025" and "character.ai has been downloaded over 75 million times"; compiled by a third party, not first-party.

Capability

2 medium confidence

2.0

Character.AI offers text chat and live voice calls with user-created characters. The app shows no model selection, document upload or web search.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/character-ai-ai-chat-talk/id1671705818 recorded 2026-09-29
App Store description: "Interact through texting or live voice calls" and "Our powerful Character Creation tools let you design custom AI chatbots with unique personalities, backstories, and even Voices!" Searched the body for model selection, document upload and web search: none.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.character.app recorded 2026-09-29
Google Play description: "roleplay adventures, or just have fun with your favorite AI chatbots" alongside user-created characters.

Verified 2026-09-29, except some scores, still awaiting re-confirmation