For now, most teens still prefer people to bots. According to the recent report, 80% of AI companion users spend more time with real friends than with AI. Just 6% said they spend more time with AI companions than peers, while 13% spend about equal time with both.

The latest version of Grok for iOS (version 1.1.18) comes with two companions — an anime girl called Ani and a red panda called Rudi.

Ani, an anime avatar wearing a tight black dress, was launched the same day the tech billionaire was awarded a $200 million Department of Defense contract.

One of the new “companions,” or AI characters for users to interact with, is a sexualized blonde anime bot called “Ani."

Teens admit that they prefer discussing important topics with AI companions more than people, according to a new study.

Elon Musk's Grok AI has recently introduced AI companions to the app. Along with Ani and Rudy, Musk introduced the latest companion, Valentine. But there is more.

Connie Francis, 'Who's Sorry Now?' and 'Pretty Little Baby' Singer, Dies at 87 Army veteran and US citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone

On Wednesday, Elon Musk discussed a new male AI “companion” that his company xAI is developing, which will run on the company’s unhinged chatbot software Grok. And while it’s not yet clear when this new robot buddy will be released, it sounds an awful lot like Musk is trying to make a romanticized version of himself.