a16z-backed Character.AI said today that it is now allowing users to talk to AI characters over calls. The feature currently supports multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese.
The startup tested the calling feature ahead of today’s public launch. During that time, it said that more than 3 million users had made over 20 million calls. The company also noted that calls with AI characters can be useful for practicing language skills, giving mock interviews, or adding them to the gameplay of role-playing games.
Users can initiate calls with a user-generated AI character directly with a tap of a button. Character.AI said that this feature is built to make the calling experience smooth with reduced latency.
You can switch between calling and texting seamlessly, as well as stop the AI from talking through a “Tap to interrupt” option.
Earlier in March, Character.AI launched Character Voices so users can hear the characters speak in one-on-one chats. The company said with the feature allowing users to create their own voices there are over 1 million voices in the app’s library.
The company’s new calling feature comes at a time when users on Reddit are complaining about their characters’ changing personalities. In response to these complaints, the startup told 404 Media that the company didn’t make any major changes, but some users could have been part of a test and noticed behavioral differences in characters because of that.
Earlier this week, The Information reported that Google is working on its own customized chatbot platform to take on Meta and Character.AI