AI chatbot startup Character.AI launches new calls feature

Artificial Intelligence chatbot startup Character.AI said on Thursday it has launched a calls feature that allows users to have voice conversations with their AI characters, ratcheting up efforts to compete with rivals including OpenAI.

AI-boom has prompted startups to release new features to their chatbots as competitors such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Google and Amazon.com-backed Anthropic are looking to gain market share by engaging new users.