Character AI users getting spammed with ads mid-chat

Character AI users are dealing with a new wave of frustration after the platform started showing full-screen advertisements right in the middle of their conversations. This marks a major escalation from when ads first appeared on the platform back in July.

When Character AI introduced ads in July, users were already upset about losing one of the platform’s biggest advantages over competitors. But those ads only showed up when switching between different character chats, which was annoying but at least didn’t interrupt ongoing conversations.

But it seems all good things do come to an end. In the past few hours, reports about ads showing up mid-chat on Character AI have ballooned up over on Reddit. One user got hit with a Duolingo commercial mid-sentence. “Is this new?? I’m on app and got an ad mid chat,” they wrote.

Another user posted, “Before I only got ads every so often when I clicked on a new bot to chat with, but now I’m getting ads in the middle of chatting. I thought they weren’t going to do that.” Their thread now has close to a thousand upvotes and over 70 comments from other frustrated users who’ve also started noticing ads in the middle of chats.

Similarly, there are many other posts about the same problem flooding the r/CharacterAI subreddit.

Some users are pointing fingers at the company’s recent legal troubles and the mass removal of copyrighted bots (something we covered a few days ago). With ongoing lawsuits draining resources and Disney-related characters getting yanked from the platform, it makes sense that Character AI might be scrambling for revenue. But throwing ads at people during their actual roleplay sessions? That’s a tough sell.

People are threatening to jump ship to other platforms, and some have already started making the switch. One person mentioned their app froze completely on a Hatsune Miku ad, which honestly sounds about right for this whole mess.

The thing that stings users is how this contradicts Character AI’s earlier messaging about “non-intrusive” ads. Companies walk back promises when money gets tight, but this feels especially abrupt. The web version doesn’t have ads at all, which has some longtime mobile users considering a permanent switch to their browsers instead.

Whether this is an intentional rollout or just a really bad bug remains to be seen. Character AI hasn’t made any official statement yet, and until they do, users are left dealing with full-screen interruptions to what’s supposed to be an immersive chat experience. Not exactly the kind of engagement anyone signed up for.