An AI character chat app that hosts user-created chatbots and AI companions powered by large language models.
Chai is worth it for roleplay writers, companion seekers, and bot creators who chat daily on mobile. Chai hosts millions of user-made characters and allows mature roleplay through a content toggle. Chai Premium costs from $13.99 per month and removes the 70-message daily cap and the ads. The free Chai version covers light, occasional chat.
Chai is an AI character chat app that hosts user-created chatbots and AI companions powered by large language models. Chai Research Corp. operates Chai from Palo Alto, California. William Beauchamp founded Chai in 2021 after building the first prototype in Cambridge, England. Chai surpassed 10 million downloads and reached around 1 million daily active users by 2025.
Chai bundles a chat platform and a bot builder into one mobile-first app. The character library holds millions of user-made bots. The bot builder creates custom characters from a prompt. The chat interface runs text conversations with each character. The content settings toggle mature roleplay on or off.
Chai serves three main audiences. Roleplay writers use Chai for interactive fiction. Companion seekers use Chai for daily conversation. Bot creators use Chai to publish custom characters. Chai offers a free version with a daily message cap and a Premium subscription from $13.99 per month.
Chai is a legitimate app from Chai Research Corp., but chat logs are stored on company servers and used to train its models. Chai operates under a published privacy policy. Chai applies a safety filter that redirects self-harm conversations to crisis resources.
Chai Research Corp. operates Chai as an independent AI startup in Palo Alto, California. William Beauchamp founded Chai Research in 2021. Chai raised pre-seed funding and reached a reported $450 million valuation in a 2023 round backed by CoreWeave. A 2025 US Senate letter from Senator Padilla asked Chai Research about youth-safety controls, alongside similar letters to other chatbot companies.
Download Chai from the App Store or Google Play, or open chai-ai.com.
Sign in with a Google account or an email address.
Browse the character library or search for a bot by name.
Open a character and send a first message to start the chat.
Swipe on a reply to regenerate an alternative response.
Open settings to toggle the mature-content mode on or off.
Use the bot builder to create and publish a custom character.
Surfaces millions of user-created bots to chat with.
Creates a custom character from a prompt and greeting.
Generates turn-based text replies from a language model.
Regenerates or swipes to an alternative reply.
Enables or disables mature roleplay in settings.
Routes paid chats through larger in-house models.
Runs native apps on iOS and Android.
Runs in a mobile or desktop browser at chai-ai.com.
Build interactive stories with AI characters; use the content toggle to set the roleplay tone; the chat engine carries each scene across multiple turns.
Hold daily conversations with a persona bot; pick a character from the library for ongoing chat; the chat engine remembers recent turns for continuity.
Publish custom characters to a public library; set a persona and greeting in the bot builder; iterate on a prompt to tune responses.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Notes | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character AI | Moderated character chat | $9.99/mo | Free tier available | vs → |
| SpicyChat | Uncensored roleplay | $5/mo | Free tier available | vs → |
| Janitor AI | Custom uncensored bots | Free with own API | Free tier available | vs → |
| Candy AI | AI companion chat | $5.99/mo | No free tier | vs → |
| Chai — this review | Mobile-first character chat | from $13.99/mo | Free tier available |
Character AI applies a strict content filter, while Chai allows mature roleplay through a settings toggle. Chai runs as a mobile-first app, while Character AI centers on a web platform. Character AI Plus costs $9.99 per month for faster replies; Chai Premium costs from $13.99 per month for unlimited messages. Users who want filtered chat pick Character AI, while users who want open roleplay pick Chai.
Chai offers a free version with 70 messages per day and ad breaks. The daily message cap resets each day. Unlimited messages, faster replies, and no ads require a Chai Premium subscription from $13.99 per month.
Chai allows mature roleplay and applies no strict content filter on character chats. The platform carries a 17-plus rating as an adult product. Users adjust the content toggle in the app settings to enable or disable explicit chats.
Chai runs in a desktop or mobile web browser at chai-ai.com without a download. The platform stays optimized as a mobile-first app. Some bot-building features work best inside the iOS and Android apps.
Chai Research Corp. owns and operates Chai as an independent AI startup in Palo Alto, California. William Beauchamp founded Chai Research in 2021. The company builds consumer-facing chat models.
Chai is a legitimate app, but chat logs are stored on company servers to train its conversational models. Chai secures data connections under a published privacy policy. Chai added a safety filter that redirects self-harm conversations to crisis resources.
Start free, or take the trial to explore premium features across all your devices.
Visit Chai →
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