How to find Character AI bots: an honest guide

What I can't hand you is an official walkthrough of how that search works or how results are ranked, because no page on file explains it.

Coming from library work, that gap bugs me. A catalogue is only as useful as the explanation of how to search it. So here is what the records actually give you to work with:

• Character AI runs on the web, on iOS and on Android
• Free accounts can message without a cap, though ads show and things slow down at peak hours
• Anyone can build a custom bot with a personality, a backstory and even a voice
• Group chats put several AI characters and people in the same room

My take: treat search as a starting point and your own notes as the real index. When a bot works for you, write down its exact name and anything that sets it apart. Names on a hub this size repeat, and a half-remembered title is the most common reason a favourite seems to vanish.

Past conversations are a related worry. If you ever plan to clear things out, read how deleting Character AI chats works first, so you know what you would lose before you lose it. I would rather you keep a conversation you care about than hunt for it later.

The table right after this section sets Character AI beside Candy AI and the other apps on this page. It is a quick way to see which ones let you build your own characters, which matters if searching turns up nothing close to what you want.

When a specific bot matters to you, I'd keep a short record of it outside the app:

• Its exact name, spelling and spacing included
• A line on its personality or backstory, so you can recognise it among lookalikes
• The date you last chatted, in case it changes later
• The device you used, since Character AI runs on web, iOS and Android

That list sounds fussy. It is also the list I'd want if the bot ever disappeared from a search result.

One more angle: Character AI's interface comes in 28 languages, and a creator may have named a bot in their own. If you first met a character under a translated name, try the spelling its creator would most likely have used as well.

What I can point to is the content policy. Character AI's policy on file does not allow adult content, so a bot built around that kind of roleplay doesn't fit its rules, whatever the name. If that is what you were searching for, you are looking on the wrong app, and no search trick will change it.

There is also a simpler fix when a search comes up empty: make the character yourself. Per the App Store description, you can use the Character Creation tools to design custom AI chatbots, each with its own personality, backstory and voice. For me, that beats scrolling for an hour. You get the bot you pictured, and you know exactly where it lives.

If you want the fuller picture before you commit time to the app, my Character AI review covers the plans, the free tier and privacy in one place.

Here is how I would judge a bot once you find one:

• Does it keep its personality and backstory steady across a long chat?
• Does it remember the details you care about, or drift?
• Does the voice, if it has one, suit the character?
• Does it welcome you as you are, whoever you want to be in the story?

That last one matters to me more than most lists admit. A good bot doesn't assume one kind of user. If a character keeps steering you into a role you didn't ask for, move on, or build your own version with the creation tools.

The character sheet is where care shows. The creation tools cover personality, backstory and voice, so a creator who took time over those three tends to show it in the opening lines. If the greeting reads like a template, I'd keep looking.

Memory is worth a warning. Other reviewers report long Character AI chats going off track, including a bot that dropped a promise it had made only ten messages before. If that holds, even the best bot you find will need reminders. Both paid plans come with 30 memory pins, which helps, but it is not a fix for everything.

Sometimes the best bot for you simply isn't on Character AI. Its content policy doesn't allow adult content, and some people want a companion that isn't bound by that line. OurDream AI, in the box below, allows adult content, has group chat and lets you build custom characters.

SpicyChat also allows it, with custom characters, group chat and unlimited free text chat on its Default model.

If you are at that point, my list of apps worth trying instead of Character AI lays out the options side by side. I'd rather you switch apps than spend weeks searching for a bot that the rules of this one won't allow.

What the records do say is useful, though, because it tells you what happens to your words. Character AI states that it keeps some of your shared data for training and improving its AI models. If you live in the UK or the EEA, you can opt out, through Settings > Data & Privacy in the app or through Settings > Account > Manage Account & Data > Model Improvement on the web, by unchecking "Improve the Model for Everyone". Even with that box unchecked, the company may keep using data for search, recommendations and safety classifiers.

My take: your chats are stored somewhere on Character AI's side, but "stored" is not the same as "easy for you to find". If a conversation matters, don't rely on the app as your only copy. Copy the parts you care about into your own notes. As a library person, I'd call that the difference between a record and a hope.

The account side is clearer. Per the help centre, deleting an account is final and can't be undone. On mobile, go to Profile, tap the settings icon, then Remove Account; on the web the path is Profile > Profile Settings > Account > Manage Account & Data > Delete Account.

So if you are ever tempted to delete and start fresh, know that your past chats will not come back with you.

Memory pins are the nearest thing on file to keeping details within reach. The (c.ai) lite plan and c.ai+ both list 30 memory pins. They help a character hold onto facts inside a chat, which differs from digging up an old conversation, but it can save you from scrolling back for a name or a date.

For other account questions, from billing to deletion, my help guides for companion apps are the best next stop. When the records don't have an answer, I say so instead of guessing.

The one firm statement in the records is about whole accounts: deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed. If a bot you liked belonged to an account that no longer exists, I would not expect it back.

So what do you do when a favourite is gone? My practical advice is to rebuild it. If you kept notes on its name, personality and backstory, you can recreate those traits, and even a voice, with the Character Creation tools.

It won't be identical, but it will be yours, and nobody else can take it down by deleting their account.

I'd also go easy on yourself here. Losing a character you talked with often can feel like a small loss, and that is a normal reaction. Give the new version a little time before you judge it. A few chats in, the rebuilt character often starts to feel familiar again, especially if your notes on its voice were detailed.

At launch it was stated as mobile-only, on iOS and Android, with web support planned, and the current web status is not confirmed.

My take: if you want to share bots with a friend, a group chat on the mobile app is the documented way to be in the same conversation. Beyond that, I won't describe a friend list or a follow button that no official page mentions.

Everything on this page separates what Character AI states from what is simply missing, and the gaps are named as gaps. For how those facts are gathered and dated, see how I check the apps.

None of those benefits mentions better search, hidden bots or any way to find characters that free users can't.

That makes my advice simple. Don't pay to find bots. The free plan already gives unlimited messaging, and other reviewers report that, of the platforms they covered that week, it alone never hit them with a message wall.

If you upgrade, do it for fewer ads, no slow mode or the memory pins, because you want those, not because you hope search will improve.

There is one money detail worth knowing before you subscribe. Money paid is kept unless a law says otherwise, and a store purchase means asking Apple or Google for the refund. So be sure about why you are paying before you do.

If you want to read the policy question in full, I go through it in my Character AI NSFW policy guide. My honest suggestion is to pick an app whose rules already match what you want. Candy AI allows adult content on its paid plans only, while OurDream AI and SpicyChat allow it under their policies.

I like that approach because it respects you as an adult who knows what you want. You don't have to fight a filter or hide anything. You choose the app that fits and get on with the story you came for. And Character AI can stay your free place for everyday roleplay inside its rules. Two apps for two moods is a perfectly sensible setup.