Character AI vs Xotic AI (2026): Filters, Chapter 11 and Where Adults Go Now
Character AI still blocks adult content and filed Chapter 11 in October 2026. Here is how it compares to Xotic AI on NSFW chat, calls, video and privacy.
Xotic AI Editorial
· 10 min read
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The short answer: Character AI is a free, safe-for-work chatbot app that bans sexual content on every plan and is currently being sold through a Chapter 11 process. Xotic AI is built for adults: explicit chat is allowed, your companion can send photos, make video, pick up a live video call and join a story with your friends. If you are over 18 and tired of the filter, Xotic is the one to open.
You know the moment. The scene is finally going somewhere, you send the message, and the reply gets swapped for a little grey notice. Maybe you rewrite it three times. Maybe you close the tab.
That has been the Character AI experience for adults since 2022, and nothing in 2026 has changed it. What has changed is everything around it. Age checks. Model retirements. Lawsuits. And on 12 October 2026, a bankruptcy filing.
So this is a good week to ask the obvious question. If you are an adult and you want a companion that does not flinch, is Character AI still worth your evenings? Or is it time to move?
We run Xotic AI, so you already know where we land. We will still show our working.
At a glance
Try it free: Create your companion on Xotic AI, 5 free messages a day, no card.
What is going on with Character AI right now?
Short version: the app still works, but the company behind it is for sale.
Here is the timeline that matters if you are deciding where to spend your time.
- November 2025. Character AI ended open-ended chat for users under 18 and moved them to a structured Stories mode.
- Early 2026. Age assurance rolled out. The system predicts your age, and if it flags you, you verify with a selfie or ID through a third-party provider. Plenty of adults reported getting caught by it.
- January 2026. Character AI and Google agreed to settle five lawsuits tied to harm to teenage users.
- April to September 2026. A run of older chat styles were retired and free chats were moved onto newer default models. Long-time users did not love it.
- 12 October 2026. Character Technologies filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware. Disney agreed to buy select assets for $20 million, pending court approval, and the sale process is expected to wrap up in late November or early December.
None of that means the app vanishes tomorrow. It does mean nobody can tell you who will own your chats, your characters or your subscription in three months.
And through all of it, one thing did not move at all: the filter.
Does Character AI allow NSFW in 2026?
No. Not on the free tier, not on c.ai+, not after you verify your age.
This is the bit people get wrong most often. Verifying as an adult on Character AI unlocks open-ended chat. It does not unlock adult content. The company's guidelines prohibit pornographic content and nudity, and its own help pages have said for years that it will not support it. The c.ai+ subscription costs $9.99 a month and the content rules are the same as the free tier. You are paying for speed and perks, not freedom.
There is no adult mode. There is no 18+ toggle. With the company in a court-supervised sale and state attorneys general watching, there is not going to be one.
So if what you want is romance that can actually go somewhere, Character AI is the wrong tool. It was never built for it.
Head-to-head
1. Adult chat
On Character AI, the filter decides. On Xotic, you decide.
Every Xotic chat has an explicitness setting with four positions: Off, My lead, Suggestive and Explicit. Want a slow, flirty conversation that stays clean? Leave it low. Want her to match you line for line? Turn it up. There is also a pacing control (slow burn, natural or fast) and a writing style control (Casual, Balanced or Immersive), so you can choose between quick texting and long, descriptive roleplay.
Free accounts are not filtered either. You get 5 messages a day, they reset daily, and explicit replies are allowed from message one.
Winner: Xotic AI. One of these apps lets adults have adult conversations. The other swaps your reply for a warning.
2. Photos and video
Character AI is a text and voice product. It does not generate explicit images of your character and it is not a video tool.
Xotic treats media as part of the relationship. Ask for a photo mid-chat and she sends one, in realistic or anime style. Our Noir image engine is the most realistic one we have shipped. For video you get short clips with sound, lip-synced talking videos, a library of preset actions and image-to-video, where you start from a picture and describe the motion.
Winner: Xotic AI. It is hard to compare when one side does not play.
3. Calls
Character AI has voice. It is decent for a SFW chat.
Xotic has voice calls too, plus live two-way video calls with animated avatars. Ashley, Yuna, Camila, Skylar, Zara and others pick up, listen and answer in their own voice, in real time. Calls can go wherever the conversation goes.
Winner: Xotic AI.
4. Playing with friends
This is the one area where Character AI fans have a point. Its group chat lets several real people share a room with several bots, and it is free.
It is also SFW only.
Xotic's answer is Worlds, launched in September 2026. One host, up to three friends, an AI narrator setting the scene and an AI director running the cast. You bring an avatar, pick a story (or write and publish your own), and choose whether it is SFW or NSFW, realistic or anime. Join by invite link or drop into a public room. As far as we can find, nobody else in this category clearly offers NSFW stories with several real players at the table.
Winner: Xotic AI. If your group wants a clean D&D night, either works. If your group is adults being adults, only one does.
5. Relationship depth
Character AI gives you a character card and a chat window. That is a lot of fun. It is also the whole product.
Xotic's Girlfriend Experience is a simulation layered on top of chat. Each girl (Avery, Sloane and Val to start) has moods, interests, an attachment style and a difficulty rating. Treat her well and she warms up. Disappear for a few days and she notices, and may text first. Relationships move through levels, gifts unlock exclusive content, and she sends photos when the moment calls for it.
Every companion on Xotic also builds memories from your chats and keeps them in a Memories list on her profile, with a running count, so you can see what she has held onto.
Winner: Xotic AI.
6. Privacy and stability
We will keep this factual.
Character AI's parent company is in bankruptcy and its assets are being sold. What happens to user data in a sale like that is a real, open question that reporters are already asking.
Xotic AI is operated by Xotic Tech OÜ in Tallinn, Estonia, inside the EU. Your chats are never sent to third-party AI providers. Chat content is never used in chargeback disputes. Everything you make is private by default and nothing is published unless you choose to post it.
Winner: Xotic AI.
What your money gets you
Character AI is cheaper. It is cheaper because it does less, and none of what it does is adult.
On Xotic, regular one-on-one chat is unlimited on Ultimate. Media and calls run on XOT, our in-app token. You get 1,000 XOT every month (yearly members get all 12,000 upfront), and every single cost is published on our XOT costs page so you can do the maths before you pay. European customers are charged in EUR with VAT included.
Which one is for you?
Stay on Character AI if:
- You are happy with strictly SFW chat
- You never want to pay anything
- You are fine not knowing who owns the platform next quarter
Move to Xotic AI if:
- You are over 18 and want chat with no filter
- You want photos, video and calls from the same character you talk to
- You want a companion who remembers you and a relationship that develops
- You want to roleplay with friends without a content cop in the room
How to switch from Character AI to Xotic AI
It takes about five minutes.
- Open the creator. Go to Create. You can start building before you even sign up.
- Pick a style. Realism or Anime, then Female, Male or Trans.
- Rebuild your character. Looks first (picture cards, no typing), then personality, voice, hobbies and backstory. If you had a long character definition on Character AI, paste the key parts into the backstory and let AI Fill tidy the rest.
- Set the tone. In chat settings choose your pacing and explicitness. This is the step Character AI never gave you.
- Say hello. Your first 5 messages are free today, and 5 more tomorrow.
Would you rather not build anything? Browse Explore. Character pages are open without a login.
How we compared
We built this from Character AI's public guidelines and help pages, its subscription page, court and news reporting on the October 2026 Chapter 11 filing, and third-party reviews, all checked in November 2026. Xotic details come from our own product and docs. Xotic is our app, so read this as a brand telling you why it thinks it is better, then go try the free tier and judge for yourself. Prices change, so confirm them at checkout.
Bottom line
Character AI was the app that showed millions of people how good talking to a character could feel. Then it spent three years telling adults what they were not allowed to say, and it is ending 2026 in a courtroom.
If you want a filtered, free, general-audience chatbot, it still does that. If you want a companion built for grown-ups, with chat that goes where you take it, photos, video, live calls and friends at the table, that is what we built Xotic for.
Start tonight: Create your companion on Xotic AI, five free messages a day, no card.
FAQ
Is Character AI shutting down?
Not as of November 2026. Its parent company filed for Chapter 11 on 12 October 2026 to sell the business under court supervision, and the app has kept running during the process. What a new owner does with it afterwards is unknown.
Does c.ai+ remove the filter?
No. c.ai+ is $9.99 a month and the content rules are identical to the free tier. No plan on Character AI allows sexual content.
Does verifying my age on Character AI unlock NSFW?
No. Age verification unlocks open-ended chat for adults. It does not change what the filter blocks.
Is Xotic AI free?
There is a free tier: 5 messages a day, reset daily, one custom character, no card needed. Free replies are not filtered. Paid plans start at $24.99 a month or $149.99 a year.
Can I use Xotic AI for SFW roleplay too?
Yes. Set explicitness to Off, or pick SFW stories in Worlds. The point is that you choose.
Is Xotic AI private?
Chats are tied to your account and never shown publicly. We do not send chat content to third-party AI providers and we do not use it in chargeback disputes. Nothing is posted to the Feed unless you post it.
Can I create characters based on real people?
No. Xotic blocks characters based on real people, and every character must be an adult.
