Restoration, Exploration and Transformation: How Youth Engage Character.AI for Fun, Feels and Finding themselves

Abstract

Young people are among the fastest adopters of generative AI, yet research emphasises adult-designed tools and experiments rather than playful, self-directed youth use. We analysed discourse from 4,172 users in Character.AI’s official Discord, finding that the most engaged users were predominantly adolescents (50% aged 13–17), female or non-binary (61.9%), with most (59%) creating their own characters. We contribute (1) a descriptive account of how highly-engaged youth on Character.AI’s Discord use AI for playful, emotional, and creative practices that push the platform limits; (2) a framework of three engagement intents — Restoration (emotional regulation), Exploration (creative experimenta..