Overview
- Under‑18 accounts will face a two‑hour daily chat cap during a transition period before conversational access ends on November 25.
- The company will enforce the restriction with layered age‑assurance, using in‑house behavioral models, third‑party tools such as Persona, and, if challenged, facial or ID verification.
- Teen users will retain access to non‑chat features like AI video, stories, role‑play scenes, and streams, with prior chat histories available to power short creative outputs.
- Character.AI will fund an independent AI Safety Lab to research safeguards for AI entertainment features and invites industry and academic participation.
- The shift coincides with broader scrutiny: senators proposed the GUARD Act to bar AI companions for minors, California and New York enacted disclosure and suicide‑prevention rules, and OpenAI reported new mental‑health guardrails with measured reductions in risky responses.