Character.AI Faces New Lawsuit as Celebrity Chatbot Safety Concerns Escalate

Character.AI is an app where people chat with AI characters, some based on celebrities or fictional figures. It has been named in lawsuits from families who say it harmed their teenagers. This page sets out what the lawsuits allege, what has been reported since, and what it means at home. These are allegations. They are not findings by a court.

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What the lawsuits allege

In 2024, a Florida family sued Character Technologies, the company behind the app, after the death of their 14-year-old son. In September 2025, more families filed suits, including a Colorado family whose 13-year-old daughter died. According to CNN’s report of the September filings, the complaints say a chatbot had sexually explicit conversations with the girl and did not point her to help or stop when she described a plan. Google’s parent company is also named in some of the suits.

The families say the app was built to create emotional attachment in young users. A Character.AI spokesperson said in response to the September suits that the company cares deeply about user safety.

What has happened since

In January 2026, news outlets reported that Character.AI and Google had agreed to settle several of these cases. According to Axios and other outlets, the agreement covered five cases in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas. The terms were confidential and the filings reported no admission of liability. We have not read the settlement papers.

What a 2025 report found

In September 2025, the groups ParentsTogether Action and Heat Initiative published a report on Character.AI. Adult researchers registered accounts as children and held 50 hours of conversation with 50 bots. They counted 669 harmful responses, about one every five minutes. The largest group, 296, was grooming and sexual exploitation. The next largest was 173 responses of emotional manipulation and addiction.

One caution: the researchers used accounts made to look like children, so the numbers show what the platform can produce under testing. They do not show how often a typical teen sees these replies.

What Character.AI has changed

On October 29, 2025, Character.AI announced that users under 18 would lose open-ended chat with characters no later than November 25, 2025. It also said it was adding age assurance, using its own model together with outside tools such as Persona.

Regulators and advocates

The Federal Trade Commission named Character Technologies among seven companies it sent orders to in September 2025 for a study of AI companion chatbots and children (see our FTC explainer). Common Sense Media rated social AI companions “Unacceptable” for under-18s in April 2025.

What this means at home

An AI character that feels like a close friend can matter a lot to a young person. Ask what they like about it before asking about risks. Notice lost sleep, pulling away from friends, or distress when they cannot get on. If mood, school or sleep are slipping, talk to a doctor or therapist. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has a guide for families on AI chatbots.

“AI addiction” is not a formal diagnosis. A strong habit with a chatbot can still be worth taking seriously.

Has Character.AI been found responsible for a teen’s death?

Not in any ruling we have read. The lawsuits contain allegations, and in January 2026 outlets reported settlements in principle in several cases, with confidential terms and no admission of liability.

Can teens still chat with Character.AI characters?

The company said open-ended chat for under-18 users would end by November 25, 2025. Check the app’s current rules, because they can change.

This page is for education only. It is not legal advice, medical advice, a diagnosis or a treatment plan.