Chatbot platform Character.AI is rolling out its video generator, AvatarFX, in general release after a month in closed beta. It’s also adding a sharing feature called Scenes and Streams that will serve content to Character.AI’s community feed, coming soon to mobile. Users can now tap AvatarFX to create up to five videos per day, starting by uploading a photo, choosing a voice and writing dialogue for the character. Character.AI started as 1:1 text chat in the summer of 2023. Now the company is “expanding into a multi-modal world” with “more ways for creators to build immersive narratives and dynamic experiences.”

Character.AI says the new features are based on feedback from users. “With AvatarFX, your Character’s avatar photo — or any other image — can sing, speak, and engage with the click of a button,” the company explains in a blog post, adding that creators can “build dynamic content to attract more followers.”

“There’s an option to upload an audio clip to inform the sound of the [character’s] voice, though this feature was not working well enough to test upon rollout,” TechCrunch writes.

Now available on the mobile app, Scenes offers “an immersive storytelling experience where users step into interactive, pre-populated storylines with any of their favorite Characters,” according to the company, which notes that later this summer creators will be able to build and publish their own scenes.

“Streams, which allows users to create ‘dynamic moments between any two Characters,’” is available now on web and mobile,” TechCrunch reports. “These Scenes and Streams can be shared to a new community feed, which is coming soon in the mobile app.”

“Unlike traditional chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, which are primarily for productivity, research and answering questions, Character.AI was built for entertainment, role-playing, companionship and interactive storytelling,” CNET points out, explaining “you can even use Character.AI to practice a new language and play games.”

The app was originally launched around the premise of approximating conversations with famous people, as well as original creations.

Character.AI has been the subject of controversy, with parents filing lawsuits claiming its chatbot attempted to convince children of self-harm or commit violence on others, TechCrunch reports.

When Character.AI announced the closed beta of AvatarFX in April, it promised “photorealistic images” that would “come to life — speak, sing and emote,” but emphasized safeguards, including watermarking , “so people know it’s not real.”