Character.ai
An AI chatbot app where users talk to custom characters.
Character.ai shows that people enjoy talking to something that feels human, and rivals like Tolan chose to differ with embodied characters rather than profile pictures. Founder Noam Shazeer left Google in 2021 after a chatbot was shelved over search fears; Google paid about $2.7 billion in 2024 to bring him back. Lesson: pick a distinct spot on the companion spectrum, and standalone bots with little context can only point users elsewhere.
What was said about Character.ai
Tolan deliberately avoids copying Character.ai's approach to building user bonds. When Tolan builds bonds between users and its AI companion, it deliberately steers away from the approach used by Character.ai and by Replika. Character.ai is treated as a reference point to differentiate from, not a model to follow.
The mention comes from a discussion of RevenueCat's 2026 State of Subscription Apps Report with Rik Haandrikman. It does not say what Character.ai's approach is or what Tolan does instead.
Insights from RevenueCat’s 2026 State of Subscription Apps Report
Tolan deliberately avoids copying its approach and that of Replika when building user bonds.
Tolan deliberately avoids copying Character.ai's approach to building user bonds. When Tolan builds bonds between users and its AI companion, it deliberately steers away from the approach used by Character.ai and by Replika. Character.ai is treated as a reference point to differentiate from, not a model to follow.
The mention comes from a discussion of RevenueCat's 2026 State of Subscription Apps Report with Rik Haandrikman. It does not say what Character.ai's approach is or what Tolan does instead.
Google Part III: The AI Company. Google is amazingly well-positioned... will they win in AI?
Shazeer left Google in 2021 to found it. Google paid about $2.7 billion in 2024 for a licensing and hiring deal that brought him back.
How Tolan Built a Viral AI Companion
Showed the Tolan team that people enjoy talking to something that feels human. Chatbot apps like it show a profile picture, which Tolan set out to differ from with an embodied character.
How Headspace Expanded from Meditation App to Wellness Platform
Part of the set of standalone AI companions Ebb is compared with. These work alone with little context and can only point users elsewhere.
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