Media outlet TheFutureParty reported that entertainment corporation Disney submitted a bid on Character.AI following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Character.AI entered court-supervised restructuring on October 12, 2026, with Disney offering $20 million as a stalking-horse bidder for a nonexclusive perpetual license to select intellectual property. While servers remain operational ahead of a late 2026 sale, users face uncertainty regarding custom creations and stored dialogue. Preserving your creative world requires exporting account data, importing personas to platforms like Prelulu, and testing live video interactions.
Disney's bid during Character.AI's Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Media outlet TheFutureParty reported that entertainment corporation Disney submitted a bid on Character.AI as the conversational platform filed for bankruptcy. According to official disclosures checked on October 16, 2026, Character.AI's operator began a voluntary Chapter 11 process on October 12, 2026, for a court-supervised sale it expects to complete by the end of November or early December 2026 (Character.AI blog). On October 13, 2026, NBC News reported that Disney is the stalking-horse bidder, offering $20 million for a nonexclusive perpetual license to some Character.AI intellectual property, subject to higher bids from competing parties (NBC News).
The platform remains online during the court-supervised sale process, and active subscriptions remain operational as of October 16, 2026. However, Character.AI's October 12, 2026 announcement stated that the platform will be wound down if no bid keeps it operating, reminding users that they can delete their account or export their data. Regulatory scrutiny has also expanded: on October 14, 2026, 40 state attorneys general asked the bankruptcy court to make any Character.AI buyer add age assurance, minor limits, crisis safeguards, and data deletion, with Reuters reporting that no party had yet bid for user data as of that date. For creators and roleplayers, this transition raises practical questions about whether saved dialogue logs and custom personas will endure under institutional ownership.
For ongoing context around this corporate restructuring, read our analysis on the Character AI bankruptcy Disney deal and review what media acquisitions mean for everyday dialogue in our review of the Character AI Disney acquisition.
What Character.AI refugees get on modern companion platforms
Character.AI established its presence through turn-based text roleplay and user-created personas. As verified on character.ai/subscribe on September 1, 2026, c.ai+ costs $9.99 per month or $94.99 per year (USD), with the subscribe page listing ad-free chats and unlimited voice calls among its paid benefits. While Character.AI published a research preview on July 3, 2025, describing audio-driven video research, the company explicitly noted that the announcement was not a product launch, leaving current consumer availability of live video calls unverified in official documentation.
Prelulu (prelulu.ai), an AI character-companion platform available on Web, iOS, and Android with its website interface offered in 27 languages, combines roleplay messaging with live avatar calling. Rather than reading static text responses, you can open a companion and start a live video call where the character answers you in their own voice, their face and delivery carrying emotion as they speak. If a conversation shifts focus, callers can cut in mid-sentence to redirect the dialogue, reflecting the natural pacing of a voice or video call.
| Feature Dimension | Character.AI (Observed Facts) | Prelulu (Live Platform Facts) |
|---|---|---|
| Operational Status | Chapter 11 bankruptcy sale process active (checked 2026-10-16) | Active commercial platform on Web, iOS, and Android; web interface in 27 languages |
| Subscription / Base Cost | c.ai+ costs $9.99 per month or $94.99 per year (USD) (checked 2026-09-01) | Free plan includes limited daily text allowance; voice and video calls use credits |
| Live Video Interaction | Audio-driven video research preview published July 3, 2025; consumer availability unverified | Live video calls supported; more than 100 characters in catalog callable as of 2026-10-25 |
| Voice Interruption | Unverified in supplied documentation | Callers can interrupt character mid-reply during voice and video calls |
| Data Portability Options | Data export takes 3 to 4 weeks; emailed link valid 7 days (checked 2026-10-15) | Web-based import at /create?import=cai via public links, card files, or official export ZIPs |
Step-by-step walkthrough: migrating your persona and testing your first call
Migrating a companion from Character.AI to Prelulu preserves your creative investment before any potential platform wind-down. Prelulu provides a dedicated web-based onboarding tool at /create?import=cai. Here is the migration procedure from data extraction to your first live visual call.
- Request your official archive from Character.AI. Open your account settings on the Character.AI website or mobile application, select the data export option, and confirm the request. Character.AI's help center notes that an export can take 3 to 4 weeks to process, delivering an emailed download link valid for 7 days (checked 2026-10-15).
- Navigate to the import workspace on Prelulu. Open your browser on the web to access the Character.AI import guide and navigate directly to prelulu.ai/create?import=cai. Web-based import requires a registered account.
- Choose your import method on screen at /create?import=cai. On the import interface, you see a public character link input field alongside a dedicated upload zone for Character.AI account export ZIP files. If you paste a public character or chat link into the URL field, Prelulu loads available public fields and keeps the original avatar, routing the draft through normal character creation so it receives a voice and video avatar capable of live video calls once ready. If you instead click or drop your downloaded export ZIP into the file upload box, the interface presents your exported conversations and lets you choose one conversation to continue in text chat only, without a portrait, voice, or video calling.
- Review character traits and test text dialogue. On the character review screen, inspect the imported greeting, personality definitions, and scenario instructions before saving. Use the free plan's limited daily text allowance to verify how the companion responds in text chat.
- Conduct a face-to-face video call with your companion. Tap the call icon on the character page and select video mode to start the session. For example, test an imported archivist companion named Roger who is anxious about whether his fictional library records survived the platform restructuring. You can hear him speak in his own voice, watch his face and delivery carry genuine worry as he asks about his archives, and cut in mid-sentence through your microphone to reassure him that his world definitions remain intact.
Understanding costs, memory behavior, and platform privacy
Operating an AI companion platform involves distinct resource trade-offs between text delivery and video calls. Prelulu operates a hybrid model: the free plan includes a limited daily text allowance, while live voice and video calls consume credits. Current rates, allowances, and packages are detailed directly on the pricing page and in the account wallet rather than through hidden tiers.
Conversational memory across modern companion services remains selective rather than exhaustive. On Prelulu, saved relationship details and recent chat context can carry into live calls, but the system does not retain a literal, word-for-word transcript of every prior exchange. Defining core lore in the companion's profile ensures continuous narrative coherence across sessions.
User privacy controls operate strictly on user consent during visual sessions. During any Prelulu live call, your camera stays off unless you choose to turn it on; where camera sharing is available, it requires your explicit permission. When camera sharing is enabled, the character can see you and respond to what you show. Readers comparing different platforms can review our analysis of Character AI alternatives to evaluate technical features across the ecosystem.
Bring your own material
Import a Character.AI character from a public link, or open your account export to review one conversation and, if its format is recognized, continue it in Prelulu text chat. Not affiliated with Character.AI. Hidden definitions are not imported. A public-link import keeps the original avatar and gets a voice and a video avatar through normal character creation; a character created from the account export has text chat only, with no voice or calls. The export reader has not yet been tested with a real official export ZIP.