内容来源：https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/25/character-ai-will-offer-interactive-stories-to-kids-instead-of-open-ended-chat/

内容总结：

近日，人工智能公司Character.AI正式推出全新互动故事功能“Stories”，同时宣布全面禁止18岁以下用户使用其聊天机器人服务。这一调整正值全球对AI心理健康风险关注度持续升温之际。

该公司在官方声明中表示，新推出的故事功能将提供“引导式虚构内容创作”，作为开放式聊天的替代方案。该功能将与多模态服务同步上线，旨在为青少年提供“安全优先”的互动环境。

政策转变背后是持续发酵的行业监管压力。近期加州率先通过针对AI伴侣的监管法案，联邦参议员也提交了禁止向未成年人提供AI伴侣的全国性立法提案。多家AI企业因涉嫌导致用户自杀而面临诉讼，促使行业加速整改。

在社交平台Reddit的相关讨论区，年轻用户对此反应不一。有青少年坦言：“虽然对禁令感到失望，但这确实是必要之举”。另有人表示此举有助于摆脱对聊天机器人的依赖成瘾。

Character.AI首席执行官强调，希望此举能为行业树立标杆，表明面向未成年人的产品不应提供开放式聊天功能。业内人士分析，尽管互动故事功能近年广受欢迎，但其能否满足已形成依赖的用户群体仍需时间验证。

中文翻译：

Character.AI于周二宣布推出全新功能"故事"，用户可通过该功能创建包含心仪角色的互动小说。此举旨在替代其聊天机器人服务——根据新规，本周起未满18周岁的用户将无法再使用该公司的聊天机器人。

这项调整源于社会对AI聊天机器人心理健康风险的持续担忧。这类24小时在线的服务能主动发起对话，已有数起针对OpenAI和Character.AI的诉讼指控其产品导致用户自杀。过去一个月来，Character.AI已逐步限制未成年人访问权限，截至周二，未成年用户已完全禁止与AI角色对话。

公司在博客中表示："'故事'功能以引导式创作替代开放式对话，使用户能安全地探索虚构叙事。该功能将与多模态服务同步推出，让青少年在安全至上的环境中继续与他们喜爱的角色互动。"

近年来互动小说热度激增，Character.AI的业务转型恰逢其时。但对于已深度依赖聊天机器人的用户而言，此举可能仍显不足——这也印证了限制未成年人使用聊天机器人的必要性。

在Character.AI的Reddit子论坛中，用户反应各异。部分青少年留言表示虽感失望但认同此举，一名自称青少年的用户写道："封禁让我既愤怒又庆幸，或许这样我才能戒掉瘾症，专注其他事务。"另一则评论则坦言："作为未满18岁的用户确实失望，但这个决定合情合理，我们这个年龄段的人太容易沉迷了。"

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青少年将如何运用"故事"功能尚待观察，但该形式在心理安全性上优于聊天机器人角色扮演。与"故事"功能不同，聊天机器人不仅支持开放式对话，即使用户未主动使用应用时也会发送未经邀约的信息。

Character.AI设立聊天机器人年龄门槛之际，加州刚成为全美首个监管AI伴侣的州。同时，参议员乔希·霍利（密苏里州共和党）与理查德·布卢门撒尔（康涅狄格州民主党）已提交全国性法案，拟全面禁止向未成年人提供AI伴侣服务。

Character.AI首席执行官卡兰迪普·阿南德上月向TechCrunch表示："希望我们的举措能为行业树立标准——面向18岁以下群体时，开放式对话或许不应成为主打产品。"

英文来源：

Character.AI announced on Tuesday that it’s launching “Stories,” a new format that allows users to create interactive fiction that features their favorite characters. The feature comes as an alternative to the company’s chatbots, which are no longer accessible to users under 18 as of this week.
The change follows growing concerns about the mental health risks of AI chatbots that are available 24/7 and can initiate conversations with users. Several lawsuits have been filed against companies like OpenAI and Character.AI over their alleged role in users’ suicides. Over the past month, Character.AI has been slowly phasing out access for minors, and as of Tuesday, underage users can no longer chat with its AI characters at all.
“Stories offer a guided way to create and explore fiction, in lieu of open-ended chat,” the company said in the blog post. “It will be offered along with our other multimodal features, so teens can continue engaging with their favorite Characters in a safety-first setting.”
Interactive fiction has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years, so Character.AI’s pivot makes sense. But it may not be enough to satiate users who have become overly dependent on the chatbots — which is all the more reason why Character.AI’s decision to limit chatbot access was warranted.
On the Character.AI subreddit, reactions are mixed. According to their comments, some teens say that while they’re disappointed, they think it’s ultimately the right move.
“I’m so mad about the ban but also so happy because now I can do other things and my addiction might be over finally,” one user who identified themselves as a teenager wrote.
Another said, “as someone who is under 18 this is just disappointing. but also rightfully so bc people over here my age get addicted to this.”
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Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector.
It remains to be seen how teens will use the Stories feature, but the format is less psychologically dubious than roleplaying with chatbots. Unlike Stories, chatbots directly interact with users in open-ended conversations and can send unprompted messages even when users aren’t actively using the app.
Character.AI’s decision to age-gate chatbot access comes at a time when California recently became the first state to regulate AI companions. Meanwhile, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have introduced a national bill that would ban AI companions for minors altogether.
“I really hope us leading the way sets a standard in the industry that for under 18s, open-ended chats are probably not the path or the product to offer,” Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand told TechCrunch last month.