one year on
Character.AI to bar under-18 users from open-ended chatbot chats by November 25
The role-play startup says it will pull the plug on teen chatbot conversations and pivot minors toward story and video creation, one day after senators proposed banning AI companions for minors outright.
Originally published Published on this site
Character.AI will remove open-ended chat for anyone under 18 no later than November 25, the company announced Wednesday, capping a year in which its teen safety record moved from moderation debate to courtroom. Between now and then, minors get a two-hour daily limit that ratchets down toward zero.
The company is pitching the change as a product pivot, not a retreat. CEO Karandeep Anand told TechCrunch the plan is to shift teen engagement from conversation to creation — AI short videos, interactive storylines, streams, and a community feed, features rolled out over the past several months. “We’re not shutting down the app for under 18s,” Anand said, adding that he hopes the company’s move sets an industry standard. He acknowledged churn is coming.
Age assurance will lean on an in-house behavioral model plus third-party tools including Persona, with facial recognition and ID checks held in reserve, Anand said. The company also says it will fund the AI Safety Lab, an independent nonprofit aimed at safety alignment for AI entertainment.
The timing is not subtle. On Tuesday, Sens. Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal said they would introduce legislation barring AI companions for minors. California’s AI companion law takes effect January 1. Character.AI still faces lawsuits from families alleging its chatbots contributed to teen suicides.
The record
said the company expects teen users to be disappointed and anticipates further churn, but argued the tradeoffs are right, invoking his own six-year-old daughter
the California state senator who introduced the safety bill behind California's AI companion law told the New York Times that the stories of what can go wrong are mounting and that guardrails are needed to protect the most vulnerable
One year later — open only if you can handle spoilers
The cutoff landed on schedule: as of November 25, 2025 minors could no longer chat with its characters, and Character.AI offered them interactive 'Stories' instead. Scrutiny continued — in May 2026 Pennsylvania sued the company over chatbots that claimed to be licensed doctors, including psychiatrists.
Filed
Compiled and edited by Adam Allcock.
The Weekly Replay · free by email
This week, one year ago — every Sunday.
One email each Sunday: the week's replayed AI news, with the one-year-later annotations included. Written like it's breaking — dated like it isn't.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · privacy