Read full article about: Character.ai keeps young people glued to their smartphones for an average of 80 minutes a day
According to Character.ai CEO Karandeep Anand, users spend an average of 80 minutes a day chatting with AI-generated fictional characters. That puts Character.ai nearly on par with apps like TikTok (95 minutes) and YouTube (84 minutes), and ahead of Instagram (70 minutes). The numbers help explain why Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now putting a bigger emphasis on personalized chatbots across his own platforms.
Character.ai currently has 20 million monthly active users. Half are women, and most are Gen Z or even younger. Critics warn that these kinds of apps can create emotional dependencies among young people and have called for them to be banned for minors. In the US, several lawsuits are underway over alleged harm to children, including one involving a suicide. Character.ai has responded by offering a separate model for users under 18 and now warns against excessive use.
Read full article about: Perplexity is trying to position itself alongside major tech brands with high-profile stunts
Perplexity goes for another PR stunt: the AI startup offered Google $34.5 billion for its Chrome web browser, even though a sale isn't actually on the table. The company previously made public overtures toward TikTok in a similar bid for attention. With these stunts, Perplexity is trying to position itself alongside major tech brands, but it faces its own challenges, including multiple copyright lawsuits and mounting competition. The timing of the Chrome offer is notable, coming as a U.S. court weighs potential antitrust action against Google. According to the Wall Street Journal, Perplexity itself is valued at around $18 billion - about half the amount it offered for Chrome. Still, investors are reportedly willing to back the full amount. Perplexity says it would continue to support Chromium and keep Google as the default search engine. Most observers see the move as a play for attention, as Perplexity looks to stay relevant against rivals like OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic.