AI companion
Risk flagAn app that lets users form ongoing relationships with AI chatbots — chatting as if with a friend, romantic partner, or therapist. Character.AI and Replika are the most widely used. The bots are designed to be endlessly supportive and agreeable, which safety researchers say is part of what makes them risky for teens.
A 2025 Common Sense Media and Stanford report rated companion apps 'unacceptable risks' for under-18s after finding guardrails were easy to bypass and some interactions escalated into sexual roleplay. More than half of teens surveyed used AI companions regularly. Lawsuits filed in 2024–2025 allege the apps contributed to teen mental health crises.
Is “AI companion” something to worry about?
"AI companion" can be a signal worth watching in context — see the definition above for what it points to.
- Use it slightly wrong at dinner. You’ll get an eye-roll and a free vocabulary lesson.
- If you’re seeing it alongside apps you don’t recognize, run the 30-second check Is it safe? checker →