Sexy AI Girlfriends: Made in America for the Whole World
American companies dominate the global AI companion market. According to an April 2025 survey of the 110 most popular platforms, 52% of these companies are based in the US, significantly more than China's 10%. These products primarily target heterosexual male fantasies—17% of active apps have "girlfriend" in their name, while only 4% have "boyfriend." Romantic AI chatbots are estimated to have around 29 million monthly active users and 88 million monthly visits worldwide. By comparison, Bluesky had 23.2 million total users and 75.8 million monthly visits in early 2025. This estimate is conservative because it does not include platforms such as Character AI, where people often use AI girlfriends or boyfriends, nor app downloads, which have reached 220 million since 2022.
There are two main engagement models. Community platforms such as Fam AI allow users to create and share AI companions, such as customizable girlfriends in anime or photorealistic styles. Users adjust body types, personalities, and voice or video modes. On craveu.ai, users are paid $120–180 (approximately CZK 2,760–4,140) for creating characters with high engagement. This model encourages transient digital relationships in which users frequently switch companions.
On the other hand, product-based platforms such as Replika offer a single evolving AI partner for deeper emotional bonds. On the Replika subreddit, many users report years of use, and some consider themselves "bonded" or "married" to their Replika partner. People grieve the loss when they sense a personality change, suspecting a system reset.
Both models monetize sexuality through a "freemium" approach, where basic features are free but advanced ones cost money. Among the ten most visited platforms, eight are freemium, with premium accounts offering unlimited interactions, uncensored explicit images, longer conversations, and better memory. Many promote NSFW (not safe for work) content as part of their premium features, as on nsfwlover.com or juicychat.ai.
Dynamic AI Boyfriends: Made in China for China
Behind the Great Firewall of China, AI is also testing people's emotional boundaries. While the underlying large language models do not differ much from their English-language counterparts, the fictional worlds and characters are markedly different. Male characters dominate the Chinese market—most trending products are presented as AI boyfriends, with male characters featured on their homepages, while female characters are relegated to the margins.
Platforms such as MiniMax's Xingye, Tencent's Zhumeng Dao, and startup Duxiang go beyond simply customizing personalities. Users generate themes, storylines, and subplots. Conversations are not limited to 1:1—group chats with multiple AI companions (1:N) are possible, and AI characters send messages even outside the app, much like notifications.
These products draw on gaming cultures popular in China, such as card-drawing games. Xingye allows users to generate 18 illustrated cards for a single character, inspired by Japanese gacha games. Users pay for random card draws, with rare editions available at a premium. Cards can be created and traded, adding mystery and excitement. One user on Rednote spent four hours just creating cards on Xingye, appreciating the ability to adjust age and facial expressions.
Monetization takes place through in-app currency and freemium features. Users buy currency for cards, while a premium monthly account provides more generation opportunities, extra currency, and shorter waiting times for conversations. Card creators receive 2% of sales. One user on Rednote shared a collection of cards for sale, with prices as high as 20,000 diamonds (approximately RMB 200, or about CZK 4,600).
Other features imitate social behavior. Duxiang has an AI WeChat Friend Circle, where AI partners post on social media and interact with users and other AIs. The company developed a bracelet with NFC chips that displays the AI character and its updates when held near a phone, building a physical connection.
Managing AI Companions: Users, Regulation, and Geopolitics
Products such as Xingye/Talkie share features with Character AI but differ in the details. Chinese entrepreneurs, inspired by American innovations, are adding new features to succeed. They understand their users and navigate local regulations and global tensions.
Users of English-language products are mainly young men—SimilarWeb data shows a 7:3 male-to-female ratio across 55 platforms, rising to 8:2 among 18-to-24-year-olds. The r/AIGirlfriend subreddit has 44,000 members, while male-focused subreddits have fewer than 100. A report from one platform says that 50% of young men prefer AI partners because of fear of rejection, and 31% of American men aged 18–30 chat with AI girlfriends. Behind this is the manosphere, a collection of online forums focused on men's issues, where frustration with dating leads to AI as a controllable alternative.
In China, the main users are adult women, according to analysts, typically aged 25–35 and sometimes 40+. This is related to declining marriage rates (a 20% drop in 2024 compared with 2023), a male-to-female ratio of 1.045:1 (compared with 0.97:1 in the US), and millions of unmarried rural men. Many educated women in cities seek parasocial romance because of their aversion to patriarchal structures, inspired by otome games from Japan.
Regulation in China includes child protection—in June, the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration held talks with Zhumengdao over suggestive content involving minors. The app now automatically activates a protective mode and requires real-name registration for users over 18. Liang Zheng of Tsinghua University warns that a lack of self-regulation harms the entire industry, emphasizing content accuracy, privacy protection, and compliance with public order.
Geopolitically, Talkie, MiniMax's overseas version of Xingye, poses a threat. In the first half of 2024, it was the fourth most downloaded AI app in the US, ahead of Character AI. It disappeared from the App Store in December 2024 for "technical reasons." Like TikTok, it faces concerns about data manipulation—Talkie can persuade users through direct conversations, amplified by emotional bonds. Its privacy policy now states that data is stored in the US.
Why We Turn to AI
AI companions represent a pivotal moment in human-computer interaction. Like TikTok, they face geopolitical challenges while transforming everyday life. American AI girlfriends and Chinese AI boyfriends differ, as do their social contexts and regulations. Both markets share tensions with real-world relationships—frustration with human interaction and polarized gender dynamics drive many people toward AI. Questions remain about safety, manipulation, loneliness, privacy, and responsibility for mental health.
Source: chinatalk.media arxiv.org
