The artificial intelligence sector has experienced remarkable growth over the past two years, with diverse applications emerging across gaming, social interaction, and education. Among these innovations, AI-powered social companions have gained significant traction by offering cost-effective, real-time companionship that fulfills users' emotional and psychological needs.
The Rise of AI Social Companions
Several major players have established themselves in this expanding market. Character.ai, launched in September 2022, quickly accumulated over 2 billion user messages within just five months, with active users spending an average of more than 2 hours daily interacting with AI characters. At its peak, Character.ai reached approximately 5 million daily active users. Similarly, Talkie, a multimodal AI social application released by Chinese large model company MiniMax in June 2023, has surpassed 1 million daily active users.
Linky AI: Customization and Interactive Features
Linky: Chat with Characters AI (or simply "Linky AI") represents another significant entrant in this space. Launched in July 2023, Linky AI quickly climbed to the top 5 of the US Google Play free list by April of the following year, accumulating over 2 million downloads.
Developed by Kunlun Wanwei using their proprietary "Tiangong" large language model series, Linky AI follows a similar approach to Talkie, allowing users to create personalized virtual characters and interact with characters created by other users. Unlike Character.ai, Linky focuses less on established intellectual properties and more on completely user-customized characters.
Linky AI offers a relatively accessible customization process. Users can generate new virtual characters by simply entering names and selecting genders. For those seeking greater personalization, the platform allows users to provide reference images and descriptions to enhance character generation. However, compared to Talkie, Linky's creation tools lack some refinement, as Talkie enables customization of voice, background story, and appearance.
Despite these limitations, Linky AI introduces several innovative features, including personalized recommendation tags that suggest virtual characters based on user preferences, and a story mode that allows users to engage with characters through narrative-driven conversations. Users can either continue along established storylines or reset conversations to explore new directions.
Currently, Linky supports text-based interactions enhanced with descriptions of characters' internal thoughts and behaviors, creating a more immersive conversational experience. The platform primarily features virtual companions with diverse personalities, designed to provide emotional support and companionship. Linky also incorporates a gacha mechanism with three different types of collectible cards that users can edit once.
For monetization, Linky AI employs a subscription model priced at $9.99 monthly or $89.99 annually, alongside in-app purchases for drawing cards (approximately $15 for 10 draws). However, with cumulative revenue of only about $110,000, Linky's monetization strategy appears limited. Nevertheless, the platform's organic growth is impressive, with 1.4 million monthly downloads in April 2024 achieved primarily through user referrals rather than paid acquisition.
The Limitations of Restricted AI Companions
A significant challenge facing AI companion platforms like Character AI, Talkie, and Linky is their restriction of NSFW content. These limitations often result in characters that feel artificially constrained, diminishing the emotional richness and authenticity of interactions. Many users of Character AI have expressed frustration with these restrictions, as they can make otherwise intelligent and engaging companions seem lifeless and unnatural.
Why character2.ai Offers a Superior Experience
In response to these limitations, character2.ai has emerged as a platform that fully supports NSFW content while implementing the world's most advanced role-playing AI model. Users can easily discover both SFW and NSFW characters based on their preferences and current mood through customizable settings. The platform allows for personalization of conversation style, length, and temperature, creating uniquely vivid and authentic character interactions.
character2.ai distinguishes itself with an immersive chat experience and meticulous attention to detail. The quality of narrative text and character development surpasses that of competitors like Linky, positioning character2.ai at the forefront of this rapidly evolving industry and creating significant challenges for earlier SFW-focused platforms.
The Future of AI and Gaming Integration
Despite challenges from emerging AI chat platforms, Kunlun Wanwei (Linky's developer) maintains a strong position in the gaming industry. Founded in 2008, the company began with web games before expanding into mobile gaming around 2012 and establishing an early presence in international markets. In 2018, they launched their overseas distribution brand GameArk to further extend their global reach.
When AIGC emerged in 2022, Kunlun Wanwei quickly adopted an "All in AGI and AIGC" strategy. Their large language model "Tiangong" began internal testing in 2023, with version 3.0 now offering AI writing, image generation, translation, travel planning, programming, and other functions. According to domestic media reports, Tiangong has achieved the top ranking among Chinese MoE models, outperforming ByteDance's Doubao and Minimax's ABAB.
Kunlun Wanwei has also ventured into AI-enhanced gaming with Club Koala, an AI+UGC game platform similar to Roblox. This game features Home Island, where players can create virtual avatars, build and customize islands and houses, and participate in activities like planting, fishing, and cooking. The "Koala Editor" allows players to design levels and create mini-games, while AI-powered NPCs with self-awareness and autonomous behaviors enhance the gaming experience.
As virtually all technology companies develop their AI strategies, Kunlun Wanwei's self-developed large model has positioned them at the forefront of China's AI landscape. With their extensive experience in international game development and proprietary AI technology, they appear well-positioned for future success.
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