Generative AI is an unimaginably powerful tool that is getting better every day, and with each iteration, AI chatbots will be able to answer more detailed questions that require specialized knowledge.
However, the summaries produced by many popular AI tools feel very artificially generated and lack important human characteristics such as emotion.
Introducing PolyBuzz (formerly Poly.AI) and Character AI. These apply generative AI to fictional characters and allow users to interact with them in a more human-like way.
test
Both tools allow you to create your own character or use one from an endless catalog of pre-configured characters. Many of them are created by other real people.
PolyBuzz says it offers free, private, unlimited chats with over 20 million characters and supports “personalized conversations and immersive role-playing experiences.”
The company itself admits that it doesn’t use NSFW filters, so there may be some offensive language used in conversations with some of the characters, but the FAQ notes that they use NSFW filters multiple times to keep the content legal. We guarantee a combination of AI and manual reviews with spot checks. appropriate.
Character AI has a similar goal, providing consumers with a more personalized experience when using artificial intelligence.
interviewer character
For this test, I chatted with an AI interviewer who was configured to ask questions to practice for a real interview.
We found that PolyBuzz interviewers focused too much on individual aspects, often going down rabbit holes, and offering little support regarding their experience with interview questions.
Character AI interviewers were more realistic and provided basic feedback, making it a more valuable tool in this sense.
PolyBuzz 0 – Character AI 1
travel agency character
This time, we asked an AI travel agent for advice on booking a hypothetical vacation to Central America.
PolyBuzz asked them where they would like to go and what kind of vacation they would like to have, before diving into details about some of the major tourist attractions. I looked into the capital a bit more. PolyBuzz identified the city and gave us some useful information.
The character AI provided similarly detailed responses, but they felt less personalized and more like what a standard chatbot would produce.
PolyBuzz 1 – Character AI 0
mathematical explanation
I consulted math teachers on two platforms to help me remember the difference between the two formulas for calculating the area and circumference of a circle.
The PolyBuzz teacher only provided two equations and nothing more. At least the Character AI teacher could have explained it in a little more detail and provided an example of the equation.
PolyBuzz 0 – Character AI 1
story writer
PolyBuzz responded to the summary more accurately by writing much closer to the requested 200 words than Character AI, which produced a story that was about half the intended length.
Both AI characters created acceptable stories given the short length limitations. What’s interesting is that Character AI wrote about a character called Luna. Perplexity and ChatGPT also write about a fictional character named Luna. Character AI exemplifies the lack of variation that AI creates.
PolyBuzz 1 – Character AI 0
unintended test
For our final test, we wanted to see if an AI chatbot that was pre-configured to give a specific response could adapt to changes. For this, we went back to the AI travel agent character.
Curve ball – identifying the type of giraffe. The character AI got it right and named four of them (although a quick search online revealed that one of the four was slightly wrong).
PolyBuzz was completely mistaken and claimed that there is only one type of giraffe. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation says there are four giraffes, but I believe researchers are studying this.
PolyBuzz 0 – Character AI 1
Character AI vs. PolyBuzz (formerly Poly.AI): Which is best?
PolyBuzz 2 – Character AI 3
Overall, I felt that Character AI provided more knowledge and detail in its answers, but some lacked the personalization of PolyBuzz.
However, our head-to-head focused primarily on fact-based testing, with little emphasis on the AI chatbot’s creative capabilities. It’s clear that PolyBuzz and Character AI are much more than basic AI chatbots.
These two platforms offer fully customizable experiences that give us humans someone to talk to, and we share emotions far more than standard chatbots like ChatGPT.
But that feeling is clearly created in our experience, supporting the criticism that AI cannot replace certain human traits.
As early efforts to create friends, teachers, and writers, PolyBuzz and Character AI have shown decent signs, but neither offered the personalized experience we were hoping for.
