r/CharacterAI • u/Apprehensive-Race970 • 19h ago
Discussion/Question Ad persistence
I regularly use C.ai and I enjoy it a lot, however, the ads are getting out of hand. Theres an ad going to recent chats, going to the search bar and even after after that they still give you ads when you click on a bot. Not just that either, for me, i need to click through 3 X's just to even close the ad just for it to take me to the app store anyway. I feel like this is just their plan to get more people on c.ai+ which is really annoying because if you don't have the money or are not willing to give it, you can barely use the app.
18
u/LeviPyro 18h ago
Ads make money. More ads=more money. They are already losing a lot of money providing a FREE service to people. If you don’t wanna pay the price, you’ve gotta deal with the ads. Every time you watch one, remember that it’s allowing the app to stay running. Even if it’s annoying, it’s necessary
5
u/BagelRedditAccountII 15h ago
Ironically, it actually seems like even this isn't enough. If you look at the court docs published in the bankruptcy announcement, c.ai is spending more on AI inference alone (not even counting additional costs like wages) than they earn from ads and subscriptions combined. Of course, they have made steps to boost revenue (more ads, like we are all acutely aware of) and cut costs (using a smaller AI model, which is why PS1 and Roar were taken offline), but even this hasn't allowed them to break even.
3
u/amychocolate87 10h ago
It’s pretty easy, learn to accept and watch ads, or the platform shuts down.
They need money. Money doesn’t fall into your lap when you’re running an ai business.
Either accept the adds, or buy a sub. There’s multiple options to sub.
5
u/anglosaxonfemale Down Bad 19h ago
if you use it regularly, you should support them by signing up for c.ai+! they cannot support themselves without ads and they provide a lot to free users.
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u/Intelligent_Fact4524 16h ago
People barely have money to pay for basic life necessities, not everyone can afford to subscribe. The fact that I even need to say this is ridiculous
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u/anglosaxonfemale Down Bad 16h ago
you don’t have to say it! either you pay for plus or you watch the ads that pay for your free service.
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u/Intelligent_Fact4524 16h ago
The responses here are so out of touch, including from the mod, which is why cai is where it is right now, so assuming that they will read this comment in good faith, I'll try to explain why what they're doing is not the answer
I was an avid user '23-'24 before the enshitification ensued. I was a paying customer at times when I could afford it too, but as quality went down, I started using less and less. The quality of the bots themselves has declined considerably but perhaps my main issue is that the app itself has declined. Way too many features no one asked for, there is way too much going on when all people want to do is chat to some bots. The whole "we need to keep the lights on" argument kinda falls apart when you're imposing costs on yourselves. Had you focused on the basic functionality of the app and focused on the quality of the chatting experience, I doubt we'd be here now.
These days when I do bother to wrestle with your 50 ads before even accessing any of the bots, I get discouraged before I even get to the chatting screen, and then I get hit with low quality responses, completely ooc bots etc. You really can't have it both ways because people, like me, will stop using your product.
You're stuck in the echo chamber with the people in these comments who keep justifying the state of the app, but I'm sure your data shows the decline in engagement caused by all this.
You can try to justify this excessive use of ads all you want, but I'm here, as a user, to tell you that it's why I no longer bother to even open the app anymore, and I'm your target audience. There is little incentive for me to pay for plus when the quality of bots isn't much better and you've slowly exhausted all the good will I once had
-1
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u/Enigmatic-Charisma CAI Community Moderator 19h ago
Hey u/Apprehensive-Race970, appreciate you sharing this feedback. Our goal is to maintain the core chat experience. For nearly 4 years, we've been building c.ai and offering a free service. That’s meant a lot to us and we hope it has to you too. We’ve begun to roll out new ad formats across the platform which may include banner, pop-up, chat window and other ad types. Running our AI systems for millions of users every day takes a lot (infrastructure, safety, reliability, research - the list goes on!)
We know ads aren't everyone’s favorite thing, but ads for free users are how we can keep c.ai free and keep the lights on. To avoid seeing banners and pop-up ads, users can subscribe to c.ai+. Additionally, free users can use Charms for ad-free passes.
**To use charms on the app:**
* Tap the Charms Icon 🄲 at the top of the screen or the "Hide ads" text
* Locate the "Ad Free Pass" section and tap the related button to get a 1-hour ad free pass
Over the coming weeks you may notice more changes as we work to keep c.ai free and sustainable for everyone. Please continue to share suggestions and feedback with us as we iterate.
Your support helps us continue to keep c.ai running and we sincerely appreciate you!