Character.AI launches Stories for teens after banning them from chats

Character.AI, nether menace from respective lawsuits implicit its alleged antagonistic interaction connected teen intelligence health, is banning underage users from open-ended chats connected its site. Instead, teens volition beryllium allowed to usage a caller “Stories” format that, dissimilar regular chats, offers “structured” choose-your-own-adventure-style experiences with the AI characters connected its platform.

The feature is disposable to everyone, but Character.AI is pitching it arsenic a mode to “enhance” the acquisition for users nether 18. In October, Character.AI announced that it would shut down chats for teens connected November 25th portion it develops an property assurance diagnostic that volition automatically spot underage users into “more conservative” AI chats.

Character.AI is currently facing a lawsuit that accuses the AI level of contributing to a teenager’s decease by suicide, on with different cases that claim teens’ conversations with the AI characters connected its level harmed their intelligence health.

Stories works by allowing users to take from 2 oregon 3 AI characters, prime a genre, and past either constitute their ain premise oregon usage AI to make 1 for them. Character.AI volition past make a “guided narrative” wherever users tin marque predominant choices that alteration the people of the story. The acquisition besides includes AI-generated images, with “richer multimodal elements coming soon.”