Character.AI, a prominent AI chatbot provider backed by Google, with a substantial user base of tens of millions of monthly active users, has announced the appointment of Karandeep Anand, formerly the VP of Business Products at Meta, as its new CEO.

Anand, who previously served as a board adviser to Character.AI, is assuming the CEO role at a critical juncture for the company. Character.AI is currently focused on expanding its platform while addressing concerns related to child safety. In response to an ongoing lawsuit, which alleges that one of the company’s chatbots played a role in the death of a 14-year-old Florida boy, Character.AI has introduced a range of new safety features in recent months.

Anand brings a wealth of experience to Character.AI, having managed advertising products that catered to billions of users on Meta’s apps. His prior experience includes serving as Microsoft’s head of product management, where he oversaw user experience on the company’s cloud platform, Azure. Most recently, Anand held the position of president at the fintech startup Brex.

Anand is taking the reins at Character.AI approximately 10 months after Google hired away the startup’s co-founder and CEO, Noam Shazeer, who had previously led core AI teams at Google. At the time, Google also signed a non-exclusive agreement to utilize Character.AI’s technology.

The partnership between Character.AI and Google prompted federal regulators to investigate the companies’ relationship due to antitrust concerns. This is one of several reverse-acquihire deals in the AI startup space that has faced regulatory scrutiny, including Microsoft’s deal with Inflection.AI.

Character.AI has secured over $150 million in venture funding, primarily from Andreessen Horowitz.

In a blog post, Anand outlined his priorities, stating that one of his first objectives would be to make safety filters “less overbearing.” The new CEO emphasized that the company is deeply committed to user safety but noted that the app often filters harmless content. Anand aims to strike a balance between safety and user experience.

Anand also plans to enhance the quality of AI models on Character.AI’s platform, innovate around memory features, and increase transparency in decision-making processes. He anticipates the rollout of many of these features within the next 60 days.

The market for chatbots designed purely for entertainment, which is Character.AI’s specialty, is experiencing rapid growth in the generative AI space – a trend that has surprised many. According to data from Sensor Tower, in 2024, 66% of Character.AI’s users were between the ages of 18 and 24, and 72% of the company’s users were women.