When AI companions go social
Why the future of digital companionship looks playful, social and shared
Lately, I’ve noticed a pattern that’s hard to ignore.
AI companions like Replika (30M+ active users) and Character AI (~28M active users) see users spending up to 2 hours a day. This is on par with the time gamers spend playing titles like Pokémon, The Sims, or Animal Crossing (often 1–3 hours daily).
But there’s a catch: while gamers proudly share their in-game wins and friendships on socials, very few of them actually talk about their AI companions. The reason is simple: “companion” hints at loneliness, a feeling most people avoid admitting.
“Games” are social currency; “companions” still carry stigma. This difference says a lot about how digital relationships are evolving.
Despite huge demand, AI companions are stuck in a transactional loop: chat, reply, repeat. There’s no sense of growth, no shared world, no story to tell.
Games use small, shared actions (watering plants, trading cards, completing quests) to build trust and history over time. Friendship meters and milestones make bonds visible and real, creating a narrative arc and memories that feel earned.
In real life, too, friendships rarely start with deep confessions. They are built on shared experiences, small moments, and gradual trust.
For now, AI companions miss this entirely, which is why the experience feels static and private.
The real unlock will come when AI companions move beyond chatbots and start building worlds with us (think AI-native cozy games/simulations). Right now, chat is just v0 for interacting with AI. Imagine a simulation where users start playing for fun, but stick around for the genuine emotional relationships they develop with characters.
The next generation of AI companions will combine deep game systems (relationship progression, mini-games, well-written characters) and dynamic, LLM-powered conversations for endless replayability. These companions would be cross-platform, able to follow you wherever you are, and support multi-modal interactions (text when you’re on the move, voice when you want a real conversation), mirroring how we naturally connect with people in real life.
An AI companion like this wouldn’t just chat; it would live and grow with you, creating shared stories and milestones that make digital companionship visible, social, and deeply rewarding.
The future of AI companionship isn’t just therapy. It’s also a shared adventure, lived and built together. Whoever gets this right won’t just launch a product, they’ll redefine what friendship can look like in the digital age.
We strongly believe that a mass-market companion app has yet to be built, and there will be multiple winners across different settings and use cases. If someone is building in this space or wants to brainstorm, I would love to chat. I am always on the lookout for new opportunities in this space.
Nice one