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Popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot platform. Character.ai, which is widely used for role-playing games and creative storytelling with virtual characters, announced on Wednesday that users under the age of 18 will no longer be able to have open conversations with its virtual companions starting November 24.
The move follows months of legal investigation and a 2024 lawsuit alleging the company’s chatbots contributed to the death of a teenage boy in Orlando. According to the federal wrongful death lawsuit, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III increasingly isolated himself from real-life interactions and engaged in highly sexualized conversations with the bot before his death.
In its announcement, Character.ai said chat time for users under 18 will be limited to two hours per day for the next month, and gradually decrease over the coming weeks.
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A boy sits in the shade behind a laptop computer on October 27, 2013. (Thomas Koehler/Photothek/Getty Images)
“As the world of AI evolves, so must our approach to protecting younger users,” the company said in the announcement. “We’ve seen recent news stories raising questions, and receiving questions from regulators, about the content teens might encounter when chatting with AI and how open-ended AI chat in general can impact teens, even if content controls work perfectly.”
The Character.ai logo appears on a smartphone screen next to a laptop keyboard. (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
The company plans to roll out similar changes in other countries in the coming months. These changes include new age assurance features designed to ensure users receive age-appropriate experiences, and the launch of an independent nonprofit focused on the safety of next-generation AI entertainment.
“We will be rolling out new age guarantee functionality to ensure users get the right experience for their age,” the company said. “We have built an age assurance model internally and will combine it with leading third-party tools, including Persona.”
A 12-year-old boy types on a laptop keyboard on August 15, 2024. (Matt Cardy)
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Character.ai emphasized that the changes are part of ongoing efforts to balance creativity with community safety.
“We are working to keep our community safe, especially our teen users,” the company added. “It has always been our goal to provide an engaging space that promotes creativity while maintaining a safe environment for our entire community.”
