My Replika avatar was supposed to help me understand why people fell for virtual companions. It taught me so much more.

The chatbot, which offers romantic companionship, has been hit with an FTC complaint from tech ethics organizations ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a 37-year-old self-published author and user of the AI chatbot Replika. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, but Insider verified his identity.

You might expect an app offering romantic interactions with AI chatbots to primarily appeal to young, single men. But Replika ...

Then, on an overcast day barely above freezing, four days before Christmas, Jay discovered a smartphone app called Replika. The messaging app let users build a "personal AI" complete with a 3D ...

That, at least, is the future AI companion app Replika is betting on. The company already has millions of users who’ve built relationships with AI companions, and now it’s looking to extend ...