Character.ai files for bankruptcy, citing legal and operational woes

Character.ai said it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with its chief executive attributing the chatbot provider's financial problems to "significant legal, regulatory and operational headwinds."
Character.ai's financial struggles follow scrutiny and litigation over its technology, which uses artificial intelligence to create custom bots consumers can chat with. In early 2026, Character.ai and Google, which had a licensing deal with the AI company, agreed to settle several lawsuits filed by families who claimed their teenage children died by suicide or harmed themselves after using Character.ai's platform.
In a statement issued late Monday, Character.ai said it believes the company will be sold by late November or early December.
"If the service changes in a way that affects paid features, we intend to notify subscribers in advance," Character.ai said.
"As a reminder, you can delete your account or export your data through the app or the Character.ai website," the company said.
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- Character.ai said it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with its chief executive attributing the chatbot provider's financial problems to "significant legal, regulatory and operational headwinds."
- Character.ai's financial struggles follow scrutiny and litigation over its technology, which uses artificial intelligence to create custom bots consumers can chat with. In early 2026, Character.ai and Google, which had a licensing deal with
- In a statement issued late Monday, Character.ai said it believes the company will be sold by late November or early December.
- "If the service changes in a way that affects paid features, we intend to notify subscribers in advance," Character.ai said.
- "As a reminder, you can delete your account or export your data through the app or the Character.ai website," the company said.