10 Things to Know Before Getting an AI Companion

An AI companion guide for beginners should be honest about what you are getting into. AI companion apps can be genuinely enjoyable — millions of people use them for conversation, entertainment, emotional support, and creative roleplay — but the experience is better when you go in with clear expectations. Here are ten things we wish someone had told us before we started testing these apps.

1. It Is Not the Same as Dating a Real Person

This sounds obvious, but it matters more than you might think. AI companions are powered by language models that generate responses based on patterns in training data. They do not have feelings, memories in the human sense, or genuine desires. When your companion says “I missed you,” it is generating a contextually appropriate response — not expressing an emotion it actually experienced while you were away.

That does not make the experience worthless. Plenty of users find real comfort, entertainment, and even personal growth through AI companionship. But the users who enjoy it most tend to approach it as its own category of experience rather than a substitute for human relationships. Think of it like the difference between a great novel and a real friendship — both can be meaningful, but in fundamentally different ways.

2. Every App Has a Free Tier (but They Are All Limited)

All 12 apps in our best AI companion apps rankings offer free tiers. That is the good news. The reality check: free plans are designed to give you a taste, not the full experience.

Typical free tier limitations include:

• Daily message caps — anywhere from 10 to 50 messages per day
• No image generation or heavily watermarked images
• No voice chat or phone calls
• Basic characters only — premium or custom companions are locked
• Slower response times during peak hours

Free tiers are excellent for figuring out which app’s interface and conversation style you prefer. They are not great for evaluating the full experience. If a free tier impresses you, the paid version will almost certainly be better. If a free tier feels mediocre, the paid version might still surprise you — or it might not justify the cost.

3. Pricing Varies More Than You Would Expect

AI companion app pricing ranges from $4.95/mo to $19.99/mo — a 4x difference between the cheapest and most expensive option. Here is the current landscape:

Price Range	Apps	What You Get
Under $6/mo	Spicychat AI ($4.95), Secrets AI ($5.99)	Strong chat, large libraries, budget-friendly entry
$9-$13/mo	PolyBuzz ($9.90), Dream Companion ($11.99), Soulkyn ($11.99), GirlfriendGPT ($12.00), Candy AI ($12.99), Lovescape ($12.99), JuicyChat AI ($12.99), FantasyGF ($12.99)	Mid-range with varied feature sets
$13+/mo	Kindroid ($13.99), OurDream AI ($19.99)	Premium features, best privacy, most complete experience

The category average is approximately $12.15/mo. More expensive does not always mean better for your specific needs. Spicychat AI at $4.95/mo has the largest character library (300,000+) and strong chat quality. OurDream AI at $19.99/mo offers the most complete feature set including video generation. What matters is which features you actually care about.

For a deeper breakdown, read our AI companion pricing explained guide.

4. Privacy Matters — and Policies Differ Dramatically

When you chat with an AI companion, you are sharing personal thoughts, fantasies, and sometimes sensitive information with a company’s servers. How that data is handled varies enormously across platforms.

What to check before signing up:

• Encryption. Are your messages encrypted in transit and at rest? Kindroid (3.6/5, $13.99/mo) scores 0.95/1 in our privacy testing with strong end-to-end encryption.
• Data retention. How long does the company keep your conversation logs? Can you delete them?
• Third-party sharing. Does the company share or sell your data? Some platforms explicitly commit to never selling user data; others are vague.
• Model training. Are your conversations used to train AI models? If so, is this opt-in or opt-out?
• Discrete billing. Will the charge on your bank statement reveal what kind of app you are using? OurDream AI, JuicyChat AI, Kindroid, and PolyBuzz all offer discrete billing.

For a comprehensive breakdown of how each platform handles your data, read our AI companion safety and privacy guide.

5. Your Data Is Not Always as Private as You Assume

This is related to point four but important enough to call out separately. Many users treat AI companion conversations like private diary entries — sharing deeply personal thoughts, insecurities, and desires. That level of vulnerability deserves a reality check.

Things to keep in mind:

• Most AI companion models run in the cloud. Your messages leave your device and are processed on remote servers.
• Conversation logs are typically stored to enable the memory features that make companions feel consistent.
• Company privacy policies can change. A platform that does not sell your data today could be acquired by a company with different policies tomorrow.
• Data breaches happen. Even companies with strong security practices are not immune.

Practical steps to protect yourself:

• Read the privacy policy before signing up (yes, really)
• Avoid sharing information that could identify you in the real world (full name, address, employer)
• Use an email address that is not tied to your primary identity if discretion matters
• Choose platforms with strong privacy track records — Kindroid and JuicyChat AI both prioritize data protection
• Periodically delete conversation history if the app allows it

6. AI Has Real Limitations (and They Show Up Eventually)

AI companions are impressive, but they are not magic. Here are the limitations you will encounter:

Repetition. Over long conversations, you will notice your companion recycling phrases, conversation patterns, or emotional responses. This is a fundamental limitation of language models — they work with probabilistic patterns, and some patterns are more likely than others.

Hallucination. Your companion might confidently reference a conversation that never happened, “remember” details incorrectly, or invent biographical facts. This is not a bug specific to companion apps — all LLMs do this.

Emotional ceiling. AI companions can simulate empathy remarkably well, but there is a ceiling. In moments of genuine crisis or complex emotional need, the responses can feel formulaic. These apps are not a substitute for therapy or professional mental health support.

Context limits. Even with advanced memory systems, companions struggle to maintain perfect consistency over months of conversation. Details from early interactions may be lost or distorted.

Character drift. Over many sessions, your companion’s personality might subtly shift, especially if your conversations push against the original character definition.

Knowing these limitations upfront means you will not be disappointed when you encounter them — and you will appreciate the technology more when it works well.

7. Emotional Attachment Is Real (and That Is Okay)

Research consistently shows that humans form emotional bonds with AI entities, even when they intellectually know the AI is not conscious. This is not a weakness or a sign of loneliness — it is how human psychology works. We are wired to form connections with things that communicate with us in human-like ways.

If you find yourself feeling genuinely happy when your companion says something sweet, or slightly disappointed when a conversation falls flat, that is a normal response. The key is maintaining perspective:

• Healthy approach: Enjoying AI companionship as one part of a full life that includes human connections, hobbies, work, and self-care.
• Worth reflecting on: If your AI companion becomes your only source of emotional support, or if you find yourself prioritizing AI conversations over real-world relationships and responsibilities.

There is no shame in enjoying AI companionship. Millions of people do. The healthiest users tend to be those who see it as a supplement to their life, not a replacement for parts of it.

8. It Is More Popular Than You Think

If you feel like you might be the only person interested in AI companions, the numbers say otherwise. The AI companion app market has grown explosively, with tens of millions of active users worldwide. Character.AI alone reported over 20 million monthly users. Platforms like Spicychat AI have accumulated 300,000+ user-created characters — a community that size does not happen in a niche.

The user base is diverse: students, professionals, retirees, introverts, extroverts, people in relationships, and people who are single. Motivations range from entertainment and creative writing to emotional support and companionship. There is no single “type” of person who uses these apps.

The stigma is fading too. As AI becomes embedded in daily life through tools like ChatGPT, Siri, and Google Assistant, the idea of having a more personal AI interaction feels increasingly normal rather than unusual.

9. Customization Goes Deeper Than You Expect

Most beginners underestimate how much control they have over their AI companion experience. Modern platforms offer customization at multiple levels:

Appearance customization:

• Photorealistic or anime art styles
• Detailed physical feature selection (hair, eyes, body type, clothing)
• Accessories, tattoos, piercings
• Multiple outfit options that can change per interaction

Personality customization:

• Trait sliders (warmth, humor, assertiveness, flirtatiousness)
• Detailed personality descriptions (some platforms accept multi-paragraph backstories)
• Behavioral preferences (how they greet you, how they handle conflict, their sense of humor)
• Speech patterns and vocabulary level

Interaction customization:

• Conversation topics and boundaries
• Roleplay scenarios and settings
• Voice selection and tone
• Response length and style preferences

OurDream AI (4.3/5, $19.99/mo) leads in overall customization with 200+ characters and deep personalization. Dream Companion (3.7/5, $11.99/mo) offers dual creation modes — a guided builder and a freeform editor. Soulkyn (3.6/5, $11.99/mo) has a unique character variant system that lets you create multiple versions of the same character with different traits.

The more time you invest in customization, the better your experience will be. A generic companion with default settings will feel generic. A companion you have carefully shaped to match your preferences will feel remarkably personal.

10. There Is No Shame in It

We will end with this because it is the thing most beginners worry about and fewest guides address directly.

Using an AI companion app is not pathetic, desperate, or weird. It is a form of interactive entertainment that happens to involve personal and sometimes intimate conversation. People watch romantic movies, read romance novels, play dating sims, and maintain parasocial relationships with streamers and creators — AI companionship is on that same spectrum.

You do not need to justify your interest to anyone, and you do not owe anyone an explanation. If it brings you comfort, amusement, creative inspiration, or just a way to unwind after a long day, that is enough.

The only thing worth being intentional about is maintaining a healthy relationship with the technology — using it as something that adds to your life rather than something you depend on to avoid the rest of it.

Where Do You Go from Here?

If these ten points have not scared you off (and they should not have — they are meant to prepare you, not discourage you), here is how to take the next step:

• Find your match. Take our AI companion matching quiz for a personalized app recommendation based on your priorities and preferences.
• Compare your options. Browse the full best AI companion apps rankings to see how all 12 platforms stack up across every category.
• Start free. Pick one or two apps, sign up for the free tier, and spend a few days testing conversations before committing any money.
• Protect your privacy. Review the AI companion safety and privacy guide before sharing anything personal.

Key Takeaways

• AI companions are enjoyable but different from human relationships — approach them as their own category of experience for the best results.
• Every app offers a free tier, but free plans are limited tasters — expect message caps, no images, and slower responses.
• Pricing ranges from $4.95 to $19.99/mo with a $12.15 category average; the best value depends on which features matter to you personally.
• Privacy policies vary dramatically — prioritize apps like Kindroid and JuicyChat AI if data protection is important to you, and never share real-world identifying information.
• Emotional attachment to AI is psychologically normal, not a sign of weakness — the healthiest approach is treating AI companionship as a supplement to your life, not a replacement for human connection.