Glossary
Ai Companion
AI companion — A chat product built around an ongoing relationship with a consistent character, rather than around answering questions.
In more detail
An AI companion is a conversational product whose value is continuity rather than task completion. A general assistant is judged on whether it answered correctly; a companion is judged on whether the character stayed recognisably itself across weeks of conversation.
In practice the difference shows up in the design. Companion products keep a character definition, invest heavily in memory, and write personas with fixed histories and habits. They optimise for a conversation that is worth returning to rather than one that ends when the question is resolved.
The category covers a wide range, from light roleplay to products positioned around loneliness and emotional support. That range matters when comparing them: two apps described with the same phrase can be built for entirely different uses, and reviews that ignore the distinction are not much help.