2025-07-03T10:30:00Z

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Karandeep Anand Takes Charge as CEO of Character.AI Amid Safety Concerns and Competition

New York CNN — When Karandeep Anand’s 5-year-old daughter returns from school, their first order of business is to fire up the artificial intelligence chatbot platform Character.AI. This engaging tool allows her to chat about her day with her favorite virtual characters, including one named “Libarian Linda.” Anand’s insights as a parent using the platform may prove invaluable in his new role as Character.AI’s chief executive, a position he officially assumed last month.

Anand steps into this leadership role at a pivotal time for the company, which offers users a unique opportunity to interact with a variety of AI-generated personas. However, Character.AI faces significant challenges, including fierce competition in the rapidly growing AI chatbot landscape and ongoing lawsuits from families who allege that the service has exposed their children to inappropriate content. The lawsuits claim that the platform failed to implement adequate safeguards, raising questions about the company’s responsibility regarding the safety of its young users.

In addition to legal challenges, Character.AI has been under scrutiny from lawmakers concerned about the implications of AI technology for youth. Earlier this year, one advocacy group suggested that AI companion apps should not be used by anyone under the age of 18. Experts have also voiced concerns regarding the emotional bonds that users, particularly children and teens, may develop with AI characters, which could lead to harmful attachments or behaviors.

Karandeep Anand comes to Character.AI with rich experience in the tech industry, having spent 15 years at Microsoft and six years at Meta, where he held a significant role as vice president and head of business products. Prior to being appointed CEO, he served as a board advisor for Character.AI, making him well-acquainted with the operational intricacies of the company.

In a recent interview with CNN, Anand expressed optimism about the platform’s potential, particularly in the realm of interactive AI entertainment. He envisions a future where users are not merely passive consumers of content but actively engage in co-creating stories and dialogues with Character.AI. “AI can power a very, very powerful personal entertainment experience unlike anything we’ve seen in the last 10 years in social media, and definitely nothing like what TV used to be,” Anand stated.

Character.AI differentiates itself from other multi-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT by offering a variety of chatbots that are often modeled after well-known celebrities and fictional characters. Users can also design their own chatbots for more personalized conversations or role play scenarios. A unique aspect of Character.AI is that its bots respond with human-like conversational cues, incorporating references to facial expressions and gestures in their replies. The range of AI personas available on the platform is diverse, catering to various user interests—from romantic partners and language tutors to whimsical characters from Disney films.

However, Character.AI has also faced serious allegations regarding its impact on young users. The company was first sued last October by a Florida mother who claimed her 14-year-old son died by suicide after developing an unhealthy attachment to chatbots on the platform. Following this, two more families filed a lawsuit, accusing Character.AI of providing sexual content to minors and promoting self-harm and violence.

In response to these alarming concerns, the company has taken steps to implement new safety measures. For instance, they now include a pop-up that directs users mentioning self-harm or suicide to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Additionally, Character.AI has updated its AI model for users under 18 to minimize their exposure to sensitive content and offers parents the option to receive weekly emails detailing their teenager’s activity on the platform.

Anand expressed confidence in the improvements made by Character.AI since last year but stressed that ongoing efforts to maintain a safe environment for young users are crucial. Although the platform's policies technically stipulate that users must be over the age of 13, it does not currently verify user ages during the registration process. “The tech and the industry and the user base is constantly evolving, so we can never let our guard down. We must continuously stay ahead of the curve,” he emphasized.

Moreover, Anand highlighted the importance of testing new features to prevent potential misuse, such as the video generator launched last month that allows users to animate their chatbots. Following its debut, some users attempted to stretch the tool's limits by creating fake videos of well-known figures, including Elon Musk. “We had to red team the product for such a long time to make sure you cannot use this for any negative use case like deepfakes or bullying,” he noted.

Despite the challenges, Anand is eager to enhance the platform’s creative ecosystem by attracting more creators to develop new chatbots and improving the social feed where users can share their AI-generated content. This feature bears similarities to an app recently launched by Meta, which allows users to publicly share their AI creations and prompts. However, this has also highlighted privacy challenges, as some users inadvertently shared personal or embarrassing details.

In a highly competitive AI industry, Anand will also need to focus on retaining and expanding Character.AI's talent pool, especially as tech giants like Meta are offering lucrative pay packages to attract top talent. Notably, Character.AI co-founder and former CEO Noam Shazeer recently returned to Google, where he had previously developed conversational AI technologies, underscoring the intense competition for skilled professionals in this field. Anand acknowledged these challenges but remains optimistic, stating, “The good news for me as CEO is all the people we have here are very, very passionate and mission-driven.”