What to look for in an AI character chat app

Updated October 18, 2026

There are many apps for chatting and roleplaying with AI characters, and they differ more than they first appear. Whether you're choosing your first one or thinking about switching, these are the things worth checking. We'll explain how Shiro handles each, so you can compare on your own terms.

Memory

Memory is what makes a long story hold together. Ask: how much of the conversation does the character keep in view? What happens to older parts of a long story? Can you tell the character facts it should never forget?

On Shiro, characters see the recent part of the story in full, older parts are folded into a running summary, and you can pin important facts in each chat. See how memory works.

Writing quality and control

Good replies stay in character, move the story forward and match the tone you want. Look for ways to control this: can you regenerate replies, edit your own messages, change the writing style, or go back to an earlier point?

Shiro has regenerate, edit and continue for everyone, swipe and rewind with shiro+, and several chat styles that change how replies are written. Our guide to steering a story covers all of them.

Creating characters

If you like making characters, check how much you can customize: personality, greeting, looks, portrait, voice, who can see it. Some apps limit how long a personality can be or how many characters you can make.

On Shiro, anyone can create characters with a personality, greeting, description, tags, gender, pronouns, a generated or uploaded portrait and a voice, and share them privately, with friends or publicly. See how to create a great AI character.

Safety and content rules

Every app has rules about content, and they vary a lot. Check who the app is for, what isn't allowed, how rules are enforced, and whether you can report and block. Make sure the rules match what you're comfortable with.

Shiro is for people 13 and older and is SFW by default. Messages and replies are checked with the conversation's context in mind, public characters are reviewed, and you can report and block. See our safety and community guidelines.

Privacy

Your chats can be personal. Read the privacy policy: who can read your chats, what's stored, whether you can delete everything, and whether your data is sold.

On Shiro, chats are private to you, we don't sell personal information, and you can delete your account and its data in Settings. See our Privacy Policy.

Voice

Some apps can read replies aloud or let you talk by voice. If that matters to you, check how natural the voices sound, whether characters get distinct voices, and whether calls feel like a conversation or a walkie-talkie.

Shiro has voice calls where you can interrupt naturally, and characters have their own voices, picked to suit them or chosen by their creator. See voice calls and character voices.

Where you can use it

Check whether the app works on your devices and whether your chats follow you between them. Shiro works in any browser on phones and computers, and as an Android app, with the same account and chats everywhere.

Price

Most apps are free to start with limits, and offer a subscription. Look at what's free (how many messages, which features) and what the subscription actually adds. Check whether you can try the app before making an account.

On Shiro you can try a few replies without an account, then chat free every day with a free account. shiro+ adds stronger chat styles, more memory, voice replies, daily call minutes and more, and you can cancel any time.

Community

A good app has an active community making characters you'll want to talk to. Browse what's available before you commit. You can see Shiro's public characters at shirochat.com/characters, no account needed.

Try before you decide

The best test is a real story. Pick a character, write a good first message (see how to write a great first message) and chat for ten minutes. You'll quickly see whether the characters stay in character, remember what happened and write the kind of story you enjoy.

Open Shiro