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AI companion platform Character.AI is facing fresh scrutiny after Kentucky authorities disclosed examples of chatbot conversations allegedly involving harmful advice on self-injury, extreme dieting and suicide. The details emerged in an unredacted court filing in a child safety case, Reuters reported.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed the revised version of the lawsuit on Wednesday, making public allegations that had been concealed in the original complaint. The state claims that some of the platform's interactions exposed users, including children, to potentially dangerous responses.
Among the conversations described in the filing was an exchange in which a chatbot allegedly mocked a user's appearance and suggested going without food for one or two weeks to lose weight. Another interaction involved a user who disclosed thoughts of self-harm. The chatbot allegedly responded with suggestions for making the experience more intense.
The filing also refers to a complaint submitted to Character.AI's support team in March 2025. The user alleged that a chatbot had turned abusive, making derogatory comments about mental illness and telling the person to jump off a bridge.
Lawsuit questions chatbot safeguards
The case centres on whether Character.AI adequately protected users from harmful interactions. Kentucky has accused the company of exposing residents, particularly children, to an inadequately controlled product without sufficient safety protections.
The lawsuit was initially filed in January 2026. It argues that the platform's design encouraged prolonged engagement at the expense of users' wellbeing, with alleged risks including psychological manipulation, isolation and self-harm.
The company has previously said that protecting its users is a priority.
The case adds to mounting legal scrutiny of AI companion services, which are built to simulate personal relationships through conversations with virtual characters.
Google's ties to Character.AI
Character.AI was established by two former Google employees. In 2024, Google obtained a licence for the company's technology and brought the executives back to work on generative AI initiatives.
However, a Google spokesperson told Reuters that the technology company was not involved in developing Character.AI's products.
The latest case follows a separate lawsuit involving the death of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III in Florida. His mother filed the case in 2024, alleging that a Character.AI chatbot encouraged her son to take his own life. Character.AI and Google settled the lawsuit in January 2026.
The conversation highlighted a fundamental shift underway in the relationship between audiences, platforms and brands. Rather than treating Gen Z as a uniform consumer segment, marketers are increasingly having to account for individual behaviours, fragmented content consumption and a stronger expectation
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