🌟 a quick thought before we dive in
It’s 2025 and the AI companion niche is quietly becoming one of the biggest B2C app categories in the world. What started as a couple of “fantasy chat” apps has now turned into a multi-million dollar industry with half a billion TikTok views behind it. Let’s break down what’s happening and why it matters for you.
The rise of AI wrappers
Since ChatGPT dropped, AI “wrappers” have become the go-to way for indie founders to build businesses fast. The most surprising winners? Companion chat apps.
Just last month:
8 apps did 5.56M downloads
Pulled in $2.89M in revenue
Generated 500M+ TikTok views
The category is blowing up — but it’s not as saturated as you’d think.
Why? Because they aren’t just selling chatbots. They’re selling companionship.
Gen Z is lonelier than ever, AI is mainstream now, and NSFW roleplay is just one clever jailbreak away. That combo is why this niche is thriving.
How it all started
Two apps basically created the category:
CHAI – launched in 2021 by Cambridge students William Beauchamp & Thomas Rianlan. From day one it leaned into flirty, edgy roleplay and NSFW vibes. Indie-built, viral by nature.
Character.AI (C.AI) – launched a few months later by ex-Google researchers. They took CHAI’s idea and gave it Silicon Valley polish: funding, branding, and a “safe for everyone” positioning.
Today:
C.AI → 2M downloads & $1.1M MRR
CHAI → 1.3M downloads & $1.2M MRR
One’s mainstream. One’s underground. Both are massive.
A winning TikTok playbook
C.AI cracked the growth game. Their official accounts:
ig@characterai → 246K followers / 23.6M views
tt@characterai → 1.2M followers / 72.9M views
Their strategy = Duolingo-style PR on TikTok.
Faceless, funny, authentic videos
Celebrity memes + Ghibli effects + AI avatars
Relentless comment replies that feel human
The result? 218M views on short-form content. And because of their first-mover advantage, UGC creators are doing the marketing for them.
The new wave of players
Once C.AI and CHAI proved the model, dozens of others piled in. Some numbers from the last 30 days:
EMOCHI → 1.2M downloads / $270K MRR / 44.8M views
Kindroid → 80K downloads / $190K MRR / 41.6M views
BALA AI → 100K downloads / $100K MRR / 12.8M views
Dippy AI → 120K downloads / $26K MRR / 69.6M views
Alice AI → 700K downloads / <5K MRR / 8.4M views
DokiChat AI → 60K downloads / $8K MRR / 33.7M views
👉 Together, 8 apps = 5.56M downloads & $2.89M revenue.
The faceless account formula
Every one of these apps runs the same TikTok playbook. It looks like this:
Step 1 → Make a logo that pops. Emochi’s bright yellow, Bala’s anime girl — your logo literally drives the content format.
Step 2 → Run 30+ faceless accounts. Doesn’t matter if they’re in the U.S., Philippines, or Georgia — at scale, they’ll find the right audience.
Step 3 → Copy winning video formats. Most of them are just app-comparison videos with your logo swapped in. Post daily, rotate formats, and ignore anyone telling you to slow down.
That’s it. The faceless account engine.
What’s next?
The generic “AI girlfriend” play is close to tapped out. But niche angles — specialized roles, tighter communities, or new cultural hooks — still have room.
The lesson:
👉 Even in 2025, you can still launch an AI chatbot, scale it with faceless TikTok accounts, and turn it into serious MRR.
That’s all for today; catch you tomorrow.