How to write actions in Character AI, step by step

The format works because it is so widely used in roleplay that the AI tends to pick it up and mirror it.

Here is the basic toolkit I'd start with:

• Actions between asterisks: *she sets the cup down and looks up*
• Dialogue as plain text or in quotes: "You're late again."
• Out-of-character notes in brackets: (OOC: can we skip to the next morning?)
• One action and one line of speech per message while you find the rhythm

Why bother? Because the AI takes its cue from you. If your messages mix movement, speech and setting into one blur, the replies tend to blur too. Clear signals give it something to follow, and in my view that is the cheapest upgrade any roleplay can get.

A word on what isn't known: nothing on file says how Character AI displays asterisks on each platform, whether as italics or as plain symbols. The easiest way to find out is to send one short action line and look at how it shows on your screen. Either way, the meaning comes across.

And if the AI starts using a different style than yours, don't fight it: keep your own format for a few messages, and it usually drifts back to yours.

If you have a pile of old chats written in a messy style and want a clean slate for a new approach, my walkthrough for clearing out old Character AI chats explains the steps.

The table right after this section compares Character AI with five other roleplay and companion apps, if you are weighing where to write your stories.

• Pick one tense and stay in it; present tense reads most naturally in a live scene
• Pick one point of view, first person or third, and don't switch mid-chat
• Write only your own character's actions, and leave the AI's character to react
• Keep each action to a sentence or two, so the reply has room to answer

The third rule matters most to me. If you write what the other character does, feels and says, the AI has nothing left to do but agree, and the scene goes flat. Give it an opening instead, like *I slide the letter across the table and wait.* That invites a reaction without dictating one.

There is a catch worth knowing. Other reviewers report that Character AI can invent plausible details with the same confidence as real ones, like a hotel or a cake that was never mentioned, and that long chats can drop a promise made ten messages earlier. Clear, specific actions help here.

The more precisely you set the scene, the less room the AI has to fill gaps with its own inventions.

My advice: restate the key physical facts now and then, such as where you are and what is in someone's hand. It feels repetitive, but it keeps the scene anchored, and it matters more the longer a story runs. For more on memory, voices and how the app handles long roleplay, my Character AI review covers it in full.

Here are the limits on file that matter for action-heavy writing:

• Nomi AI caps free messages at 400 characters each, and 800 on paid plans, so long action paragraphs need trimming on the free plan
• SpicyChat's free plan keeps replies up to 180 tokens with 4K memory, while its top tier, Im All In, lists 32K context
• GirlfriendGPT lists 8K memory context on Deluxe and 16K on Elite
• OurDream AI offers group chat and lists 3x chat memory on its Deluxe Annual plan
• Character AI publishes no message cap on its free plan, and its paid plans add 30 memory pins

For writing actions, the Nomi AI limit is the one I'd flag. A 400-character message fits one tidy action and a line of speech, not a scene-setting paragraph. Some people like that discipline; I find it a little tight for slow, descriptive roleplay.

If you love long, scenic actions, an app with no published message cap gives you more freedom to write the way you like.

Context size matters in a quieter way. The more an app keeps in view, the longer it can remember that your character put the key in her pocket twenty messages ago. On apps with small free memory, restating key facts inside your actions does real work.

If you roleplay in groups, formatting matters even more. Character AI, OurDream AI and SpicyChat all list group chat, and with several characters in one room, clear asterisk actions and named speakers keep everyone from talking over each other. Naming who acts at the start of each action line is a small habit that saves a lot of confusion.

My overall view: learn the style on whichever app you like, then adjust the length to that app's limits. For a ranked list of apps that suit long-form roleplay, see my Character AI alternatives for roleplay writers.

Keep OOC notes rare and short. If every message carries a bracketed instruction, the story turns into a to-do list. I'd save them for real turning points: a time skip, a new location, or a correction when the AI has mixed up a detail.

A gentler way to steer is through action itself. Instead of telling the AI what to do, have your character do something that forces the change: open the door, take the phone call, pack the bag. The story moves, and nobody breaks the spell. Of all the techniques on this page, this is the one I like most.

When the AI gets a fact wrong, correct it early. The reported tendency to invent details means a small error can snowball into a whole invented subplot. One short action that restates the truth, or a quick OOC note, fixes it before it grows. On (c.ai) lite or c.ai+, a memory pin for that fact is the sturdier fix.

Keep your own formatting consistent, too. If you switch between asterisks, dashes and brackets for the same thing, the AI has to guess which is which. One style, used every time, gives the cleanest replies.

The same steering habits apply on apps built around paid extras. OurDream AI, in the box above, sells voice calls and video on top of chat, but the text scene still follows whatever you set up in your messages. Its Standard Monthly plan is $19.99 with unlimited messages.

For more practical guides on settings, memory and billing across companion apps, my help pages for roleplay and companion apps collect them in one place.

Writing the AI's lines for it. It came up above, but it's the big one. Leave the other character's choices to the other character.

Walls of action with no speech. A paragraph of movement and scenery can be lovely, but if there's nothing to answer, the AI may just describe the room back to you. End with a line of dialogue or a clear moment of tension.

Speech hidden inside the asterisks. If what your character says sits inside the action markers, it can be read as narration. Keep spoken words outside them, so the AI can tell at a glance what was done and what was said.

Switching tense or person. Moving from "I walk" to "she walked" in one message makes the scene wobble. Pick one and keep it. First person feels closer, third person gives a storybook feel, and both work fine as long as you stay with your choice.

Vague actions. "Does something" gives the AI nothing to work with. "Glances at her watch twice" gives it impatience to react to.

These are my opinions based on how roleplay writing works in general, not lab results. Pages like this one set out the facts on file and what I think of them. If you want to know how the apps themselves are assessed, how this site weighs each app explains it.

The free plan runs on PipSqueak 2 and PipSqueak 2 Rawr, (c.ai) lite, for $4.99 monthly, gives a daily allowance of premium chat styles, while c.ai+ removes that cap for $9.99 monthly.

Nothing on file describes how each chat style handles actions, so I can't tell you one is better for descriptive roleplay. My advice is to learn the formatting on the free plan first. Good actions improve every chat style, and they cost nothing.

If the free replies still feel short or flat after you've tightened your writing, that is the point where a paid style might be worth a month.

The better way to think about it: actions are a storytelling tool, not a loophole. Used well, they make romance, tension and drama feel real within the rules. A held glance, a hand on a shoulder or a long pause before an answer can carry a lot of feeling without going anywhere the policy forbids.

If you want the full picture of what the policy says and why workarounds are a poor bet, I cover both in Character AI's NSFW policy explained. For adult roleplay, the straight answer is an app that allows it under its policy, such as SpicyChat or OurDream AI, rather than a formatting trick.

If the same thing happens again and again, it usually means the story you want and the app you are on don't match. Nothing is wrong with either. Character AI's policy keeps chats SFW, and other apps set the line elsewhere.

Knowing that saves you a lot of frustration, and it keeps your account out of trouble while you decide which kind of story you actually want to write.

My last piece of advice on writing actions is the simplest: read your message once before sending. Is it clear who is doing what? Is there something for the other character to answer? Does it fit the scene?

Three quick questions, and your roleplay gets better on any app. The questions below cover the rest of what people ask about formatting.