AI Characters, a startup that lets users chat with a variety of AI-powered characters, is currently testing the game on desktop and mobile web apps to increase engagement on the platform. The game is available for AI Character paying customers and a limited number of users on the free plan. For this initial release, the company developed two games, Speakeasy and War of Words. Users who have access to the game can go to any character they are chatting with in the browser and tap the new controller icon. The user can then play games with existing characters. The application shows a pop-up to the user to start a new conversation for the game so that the previous conversation with the character remains the same. In Speakeasy, users have to ask the chatbot to say a certain word without using the five listed words. For example, if you need to make the bot “croissant” without using listed words such as pastry, butter, bake, French, and flaky. Image Credit: AI Character In Word War, the user has to duel with the character, and the AI referee decides who wins a particular round over five rounds. The AI character says it’s the company’s way of making the service more enjoyable. “Our goal as an AI entertainment company is to find ways to make the experience of AI Characters more fun and exciting. We are currently testing features that allow games with our favorite Characters, all while maintaining the immersive experience that users love,” said a TechCrunch spokesperson. Users already have their own characters for text-based games like this Space Adventure Game. However, the company is also trying to bring its own games to the platform. Character AI has undergone personnel changes at the top after co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas left for Google. The company hired a YouTube executive as head of product, and Dominic Perella, who was general counsel for the company, became interim CEO. In December, Perella told TechCrunch that Character AI was becoming an entertainment company. The introduction of games is a step that further strengthens the image. “When there are companies in the space that focus on connecting people to AI friends, that’s not what we’re going to do in AI Characters. What we want to do is create a healthier entertainment platform. So, as we grow and as we pursue our goal of letting people create stories, share stories on our platform, we need to develop safety practices to be first class,” he said. Platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Netflix have used games to increase engagement on their platforms. AI characters may take the same route so users spend more time on the platform. According to analytics company Sensor Tower, AI Character users spend 98 minutes a day on the app. Last year, the company added new safety tools for teens, including more prominent labels on AI characters that tell users they’re not real people after the company became part of a series of lawsuits. The startup also added a timeout notification when users are in the app for 60 minutes at a time. TechCrunch has an AI-focused newsletter! Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.
Initial AI Character AI tests the game on the web
