a16z-backed Character.AI today announced that users can now converse with AI characters over phone calls, a feature that currently supports multiple languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese and Chinese.
The company tested the calling feature ahead of today's public launch. During the test period, more than 3 million users made more than 20 million calls. The company also noted that calling with AI characters can be useful for practicing language skills, mock interviews, and adding to role-playing gameplay.
With the tap of a button, users can initiate a call directly with the user-created AI character, a feature that Character.AI says is built to reduce latency for a smoother calling experience.
You can seamlessly switch between calls and text messages, and you can also stop the AI conversation with the “tap to interrupt” option.
Earlier in March, Character.AI released “Character Voices,” which lets users listen to characters talk in one-on-one chats. The company said the feature lets users create their own voices, and that the app's library includes more than 1 million voices.
The company's new calling feature comes at a time when users on Reddit have complained about changes to their characters' personalities. In response to the complaints, the company told 404 Media that it wasn't making any major changes, but that some users who took part in tests may have noticed differences in their characters' behavior.
Earlier this week, The Information reported that Google was developing its own customized chatbot platform to compete with Meta and Character.AI.