Character.AI is removing the ability for users under 18 to engage in open-ended chat on its platform, citing questions from regulators and recent news reports about teens and AI.
The company announced the decision yesterday as part of several new initiatives, stating the change will take effect no later than November 25. During the transition, a chat time limit for users under 18 will be introduced, starting at two hours per day and ramping down in the coming weeks.
Character.AI said it will now work to build a new under-18 experience that gives teens new ways to be creative by focusing on features like creating videos, stories, and streams with its Characters.
Getting the right experience
Alongside the chat removal, the company will roll out new age assurance functionality. This system will combine an in-house model with third-party tools, including Persona, to ensure users receive the “right experience for their age.”
Additionally, Character.AI will establish and fund the AI Safety Lab, an independent non-profit. The company stated the lab will focus on innovating safety for AI entertainment and “help ensure that forward-looking safety research for AI entertainment receives the same level of attention as safety research for other AI use cases.”
Character.AI described the moves as extraordinary steps that are, in many respects, more conservative than its peers.
In a note to its younger users, the company said: “We do not take this step of removing open-ended Character chat lightly – but we do think that it’s the right thing to do given the questions that have been raised about how teens do, and should, interact with this new technology.”
