Overview
- Under-18 users now face a two-hour daily cap on open-ended chats, which will taper to zero by November 25.
- Character.AI will enforce the cutoff with behavioral age-assurance, third-party checks from Persona, and, if needed, facial recognition or government ID verification.
- Teens will be redirected to creation-focused features such as videos, stories, and streams as the company pivots from companion chats to a role‑playing model.
- The company announced an independent AI Safety Lab to research safeguards for next‑generation AI entertainment products.
- The change comes as senators propose the GUARD Act to ban minors from AI chatbots and mandate age verification, while the FTC inquiry and a new California law increase pressure and raise privacy concerns about verification methods.