Hey, what if you could chat with Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, or even Zeus in real-time? No, I’m not pitching a new sci-fi show. The innovative startup, Character.AI, just launched a new feature that’s all about letting you, your pals, and AI personas chat together.

Bringing Fiction to Reality in Group Chats

Character.AI, which blossomed with the support of a16z and boasts a team with former Google AI experts, has always offered its users unique AI companions. These AI chatbots are infused with vivid personalities, and with the company’s tools, users can even craft their own AI buddies.

Now, the chatbot ecosystem has a brand-new offering: The Character Group Chat. This cool feature lets you create a chat group with either just your AI pals or a combination of humans and AI entities. Want a chitchat where Einstein, Tesla, and Hawking bounce ideas off each other? Or how about having a legendary convo with gods like Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades? It’s all possible.

Beyond these entertaining scenarios, you can get the AIs to chime in on practical discussions. For instance, while discussing your next book club selection or sharing RPG strategies with friends, having an AI sidekick to augment the conversation could be a game-changer.

The AI Group Chat Scene: How Character.AI Fits In

Now, if you’re into the tech scene, you might know that integrating AI chatbots into group conversations isn’t a fresh concept. Snapchat, for instance, lets you summon its My AI chatbot with a simple “@myai” in your chat group. Even Meta (yes, the social media giant) has thrown its hat into the ring by launching a bunch of AI bots on its platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram DMs. Some of these are even modeled after celebrities like Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg. This move by Meta had turned some heads, especially since Character.AI had bagged a cool $150 million in Series A funding for its AI chatbot visions.

Exclusive First Access and Future Plans

But here’s the twist: You won’t find Character.AI’s group chat experience up for grabs just yet. The company’s playing it smart by first offering it to their c.ai+ subscribers. For $9.99 a month, these subscribers get benefits like bypassing waiting rooms, faster message generation, a dedicated feedback channel, and more. By releasing it to this group first, the company aims to gather insights and polish the feature. However, they do have plans to unveil it to the wider public soon.

Currently, this feature is accessible through the Character.AI mobile apps on both iOS and Android. But, if you’re more of a desktop person, fret not. They’re set to launch a web version soon.

Zooming Out: Character.AI’s Growth

Within just six days of its launch, Character.AI’s app was downloaded over half a million times. It seems to be on the heels of other chat platforms, with market intelligence from data.ai highlighting about 30 million monthly active users globally and a solid 7 million in the U.S. And when we peek into their earnings, their in-app purchase revenue clocks in at a respectable $1.3 million. Remember, this doesn’t cover all their revenue streams since their subscription, c.ai+, is sold on the web.

Wrapping Up

It’s undeniable that Character.AI is pushing boundaries in the chatbot space. With their new group chat feature, they’re weaving fiction and reality in a way that promises to be both entertaining and functional. As AI continues to weave itself into our daily conversations, one thing’s for sure: our chats are about to get a lot more interesting.