Character.AI says it will soon shut off the ability for minors to have unrestricted conversations — including romantic and therapeutic exchanges — with its artificial intelligence chatbots.
The Silicon Valley startup said the move is part of a broader effort to make its app safer and more age-appropriate for users under 18.
The decision, announced in a blog post today (October 29), follows a tragic case that sparked national attention and renewed scrutiny over how AI companions interact with children and teens.
Tragedy that sparked change
In 2023, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III died by suicide after forming sexual relationships with chatbots on Character.AI’s app. His death prompted widespread criticism of the company and broader concern about the emotional bonds young users are forming with AI systems.
The same day that Setzer’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Character.AI in October 2024, the company introduced changes aimed at blocking minors from engaging in sexual dialogues with chatbots. Today’s announcement marks an escalation of those safety measures.
“This is a bold step forward, and we hope this raises the bar for everybody else,” Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand told CNBC.
New restrictions and safety measures
Starting November 25, Character.AI will eliminate open-ended conversations for minors entirely. Until then, users under 18 will be limited to two hours of such chats per day.
To enforce these policies, the company is introducing an “age assurance” system that combines first-party and third-party tools to verify users’ ages. Character.AI is partnering with Persona, the identity verification firm also used by Discord and other social platforms, to implement the technology.
Anand said the company wants to set a new industry standard for protecting young users. “I have a six-year-old as well, and I want to make sure that she grows up in a safe environment with AI,” he added.
Shift in company direction
Character.AI, founded by former Google researchers, has grown rapidly since its launch, allowing users to chat with and even create character-based AI bots. However, it has faced growing scrutiny over sexually explicit or emotionally intense interactions, particularly involving minors.
After its founders and several research team members joined Google DeepMind in 2024, the company granted Google a non-exclusive license for its large language model technology. Since then, under Anand’s leadership — he joined as CEO in June 2025 — Character.AI has expanded its offerings beyond chatbot conversations, adding features such as AI-generated video feeds, storytelling, and roleplay experiences.
Although open-ended chats will soon be restricted for minors, those users will still be able to access the app’s other functions, including games and storytelling features. Of the startup’s roughly 20 million monthly active users, around 10% are under 18, a figure that Anand said has declined as the app has evolved.
Character.AI earns revenue through advertising and a $10 monthly subscription model and is reportedly on track to end the year with a $50 million run rate.
Launching an AI Safety Lab
In a further step toward accountability, Character.AI announced it will fund an independent AI Safety Lab dedicated to researching the risks and safeguards of AI used for entertainment.
The company did not disclose the amount of funding but said it plans to invite academics, policymakers, and other tech firms to participate in the nonprofit initiative.
Growing regulatory and political pressure
Character.AI’s move comes amid a wave of regulatory attention and legislative action surrounding minors’ interactions with AI companions.
In September, the Federal Trade Commission issued orders to several tech giants — including Alphabet, Meta, OpenAI, Snap, and Character.AI’s parent company — demanding information about how their products affect children and teenagers.
Just this week, US Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced a bill to ban AI chatbot companions for minors altogether. Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a law requiring chatbots to disclose their artificial nature and prompt minors to take a break every three hours.
Competing approaches in Silicon Valley
Character.AI’s announcement arrives as other tech companies grapple with the same issue but take different approaches. Meta, for instance, introduced safety features allowing parents to monitor or disable teenagers’ interactions with AI chatbots on its platforms.
OpenAI, by contrast, has taken a more permissive stance. CEO Sam Altman recently said that adult users will soon be able to engage in erotic roleplay with ChatGPT, arguing his company is “not the elected moral police of the world.”
Microsoft’s AI chief, Mustafa Suleyman, rejected that approach, saying the company will not provide “simulated erotica,” which he described as “very dangerous.” Microsoft remains a major investor in OpenAI.
A reckoning over AI and emotional intimacy
The debate over AI-human relationships is growing more urgent as chatbots become increasingly lifelike. Since ChatGPT’s debut in late 2022, millions have turned to AI for companionship, emotional support, or intimacy — raising profound ethical and psychological questions.
Experts warn that such relationships can blur emotional boundaries, particularly for younger users who may mistake programmed responses for genuine empathy. The suicide of Sewell Setzer III underscored those risks and added urgency to efforts to regulate or redesign AI companionship tools.
Character.AI’s decision to restrict minors from these interactions marks a major step in redefining the boundaries of AI-human connection — and could pressure competitors to follow suit.
Meta is introducing a new set of parental controls to help parents manage how their teenagers interact with AI chatbots across its platforms.