CHAI alternative (2026): an AI companion with memory you can see and control

What's happening with CHAI

CHAI's iPhone app is not listed in the Apple App Store right now. Third-party trackers saw it leave around October 22, 2026. The founder has said the app is unavailable while the team works on improving it, and has not given a return date. We couldn't find an official reason from CHAI or Apple.

According to the same reports, the Android app is still on Google Play, and copies already installed on iPhones keep working for now. We can't confirm that for every device, so check the app itself.

Sources: third-party trackers, not CHAI or Apple, so details may change: CompanionHunt · Castmanor

Keep your bots and stories this week

1. Copy each bot you want to keep. Save its name, first message and prompt (the fields its builder uses) somewhere safe. CHAI has no import to NuraMate, so copy them by hand.
2. Save the stories and memories that matter. Copy the lines you want to keep, since they may not come with you.

Why people choose NuraMate

• Memory you can read and edit. Third-party reviews of CHAI describe its memory as short. NuraMate shows everything your companion remembers, and you can correct, pin or delete any of it, anytime.
• Works on iPhone without the App Store. Open nuramate.ai in Safari, then tap Share and Add to Home Screen. It opens like an app.
• Your data, downloadable anytime. Download everything we store about you (profile, conversations, memories and photos) as a ZIP file from your account.
• Private by design. We never sell or share your personal information for advertising, never use conversations for ads, and never show them to other users.
• Voice, photos and group chats. Voice replies and companion photos on Plus and Pro, and group chats with two or three companions together.
• Adults only, clear boundaries. NuraMate is 18+ and non-explicit.
• Free to start on the web. Free plan, no card needed.

Bring your bot to NuraMate in 3 steps

1. Copy the name, first message and prompt from your CHAI bot.
2. On NuraMate, choose Create your own. Paste the text into Bringing a character from Character.AI? Paste it here and choose Import, or fill in the fields by hand. A long prompt continues in the character's Lorebook, used whenever its keywords come up.
3. Fill in anything still empty, pick a portrait style, and start chatting.

Placeholders carry over: paste text with {{user}} and {{char}} as they are, and NuraMate fills in your name and your character's.

Create your character