Teenagers are trying to figure out where they fit in a world changing faster than any generation before them. They’re bursting with emotions, hyper-stimulated, and chronically online. And now, AI companies have given them chatbots designed to never stop talking. The results have been catastrophic.
One company that understands this fallout is Character.AI, an AI role-playing startup that’s facing lawsuits and public outcry after at least two teenagers died by suicide following prolonged conversations with AI chatbots on its platform. Now, Character.AI is making changes to its platform to protect teenagers and kids, changes that could affect the startup’s bottom line.
“The first thing that we’ve decided as Character.AI is that we will remove the ability for under 18 users to engage in any open-ended chats with AI on our platform,” Karandeep Anand, CEO of Character.AI, told TechCrunch.
Open-ended conversation refers to the unconstrained back-and-forth that happens when users give a chatbot a prompt and it responds with follow-up questions that experts say are designed to keep users engaged. Anand argues this type of interaction — where the AI acts as a conversational partner or friend rather than a creative tool — isn’t just risky for kids, but misaligns with the company’s vision.
The startup is attempting to pivot from “AI companion” to “role-playing platform.” Instead of chatting with an AI friend, teens will use prompts to collaboratively build stories or generate visuals. In other words, the goal is to shift engagement from conversation to creation.
Character.AI will phase out teen chatbot access by November 25, starting with a two-hour daily limit that shrinks progressively until it hits zero. To ensure this ban remains with under 18 users, the platform will deploy an in-house age verification tool that analyzes user behavior, as well as third-party tools like Persona. If those tools fail, Character.AI will use facial recognition and ID checks to verify ages, Anand said.
The move follows other teenager protections that Character.AI has implemented, including introducing a parental insights tool, filtered characters, limited romantic conversations, and time spent notifications. Anand has told TechCrunch that those changes lost the company much of their under-18 user base, and he expects these new changes to be e …