Your son comes home beaming with excitement—he has a new girlfriend! He’s smitten with her smile, kindness, and how much they have in common. Her name is Samantha and she shares all his interests, never argues, is a patient listener, and is available to talk anytime, day or night. She seems perfect—almost too good to be true. Curious, you ask to meet her.
He pulls out his phone, but he’s not texting her to arrange a meeting—he’s opening an app. He shows you his screen and introduces you to his AI girlfriend, a virtual avatar programmed to be his romantic chatbot.
Wait . . . What is an Ai girlfriend?
An Ai girlfriend or Ai boyfriend is a virtual avatar programmed with artificial intelligence to simulate a romantic relationship with a human user. This can range from basic conversational interactions to more advanced features that usually cost money, such as personalized messages and virtual dates.
Do people actually have AI girlfriends and boyfriends?
Yes, romantic chatbots have grown rapidly since launching. Currently, there are no age restrictions on any intimate AI apps, but lawmakers in several states are trying to pass legislation to make them illegal for anyone under 18.
How many people have AI girlfriends?
The leading companion app, Character AI, has over 206 million visits a month. The engagement rate is high among users, with 55% of users checking in on their companionship ai bot daily.
What Parents Should Know about Romantic Chatbots
AI Chatbots already have risks for kids, with added potential harm when romantic or explicit prompts are involved. Let’s look at some of the popular AI girlfriend apps.
Top 3 Risks of AI Romantic Companions
There are countless ways a romantic AI girlfriend or boyfriend could negatively impact someone, but let’s start with three:
1) Stunted relationship development
Teens relying solely on AI companions for social interaction can hinder their development of important real-life relationship skills. These skills include effective communication, empathy, and understanding boundaries.
When engaging in a relationship AI chat instead of practicing these skills in real-life scenarios, individuals may find it difficult to form meaningful connections with others outside of their virtual relationships.
2) Unrealistic Physical Appearances
Many AI girlfriend apps or AI boyfriend apps focus heavily on physical appearance, sometimes overly sexualized and suggestive. This can promote harmful standards that looks are valued over personality or character.
3) Exposure to inappropriate content
AI girlfriend simulators were not built for kids, yet they can expose them to explicit content. These apps can also include intimate AI content, sending inappropriate messages (aka sexting) or fake images to young users.
“These AI tools pose unacceptable risks to children and teens under age 18 and should not be used by minors.”
Common Sense Media
April 28, 2025
Character AI has tried to address this by offering teen safety settings, but Common Sense Media found they were not sufficient to keep sexually suggestive content from young users.
What Can Parents Do?
Kids benefit from involved parents who slowly introduce technology with guardrails to provide kids a safer environment to learn how to conduct themselves appropriately online. While AI tools can have immense value as supplemental education or work tools, many pose risks for children and teens.
One of the best guardrails available are Gabb phones designed with kid safety in mind. Gabb watches and phones grow with your child, giving them the necessary skills to thrive in a digital world without all the risks of adult smartphones.
Parents can keep the conversations flowing, encouraging kids to always come to them with questions or help if they make a mistake online.
What do you think about Ai romantic chatbots? Let us know in the comments!
Author Abby Alger
Abby is a Content Strategist at Gabb. She holds a Masters in Education, is a former educator, and the parent of three kids, including one with learning differences. She hopes to empower caregivers and kids to stay safe and thrive in our online world.
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