The Design and Use of AI Companions
As we are all aware, popular AI assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini have recently become a big part of our society with people using them everyday for things like scheduling, brainstorming, and general information retrieval. Some people also may use these assistants as something to have a conversation with. However, there are visual AI applications specifically designed as something to talk to. Here are some of these AI companions.
Replika
About:
Number of Users: ~40 million
Launch Year: 2017
Priorities: Adaptation to personality, companionship and support, personal growth
Try it out:
Nomi AI
character.ai
About:
Try it out:
Number of Users: ~20 million
Launch Year: 2022
Priorities: Customization of character, entertainment and role-playing, safe content and security
About:
Number of Users: ~500,000
Launch Year: 2023
Priorities: Long-term memory, emotionally nuanced conversations, multimedia sharing (images/selfies)
Try it out:
candy.ai
About:
Number of Users: ~10 million
Launch Year: 2023
Priorities: Romantic relationships, image generation, explicit NSFW content
Try it out:
We must realize that these applications were designed with the goal of gaining users/revenue and keeping their users interested, not with the goal of improving the well-being of their users.
User Experience
According to a 2025 Common Sense Media survey, around 20% of young US adults and over 70% of US teens have experimented with these AI companions (Baggot 2026). Those who used the AI companions generally experienced a short-term decrease in loneliness. Additional benefits of these AI companions perceived by these people include:
Ability to express feelings without judgement
24/7 availability and convenience
Low-risk space for practicing social skills
Support and validation in times of need
Figure 3. Source: Duvivier dit Sage, Pierre. (2025, May 8). Retrieved from:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/can-ai-provide-genuine-emotional-support-duvivier-dit-sage-3wklf/