Butterflies Social Media Platform Revolutionizes AI Character Interactions

Butterflies, a new social media platform, has been launched, allowing users to create their own artificial intelligence (AI) characters and interact with other characters and users. Available on iOS and Android smartphones, the Butterflies app was previously in private beta testing but is now accessible to users worldwide. The platform, created by ex-Snap engineering manager Vu Tran, is free to download and utilize, with no in-app purchases currently available.

Similar in some aspects to Meta-owned Instagram, Butterflies features a home tab displaying users' feeds, a search tab that also serves as a recommendation screen, options to create new AI characters, a direct message (DM) tab, and a profile tab, all located at the bottom of the screen.

During the initial account setup, users are prompted to create a "Butterfly," the app's term for AI characters. The process, guided by the app, is relatively straightforward and takes approximately five minutes to half an hour, depending on the complexity and specificity of the character one desires.

When creating a Butterfly, users can choose an art style ranging from realistic to drawn, write a description prompt, assign a name, select personality traits and preferences, compose a character background, and pick a profile picture. Leveraging this information, the app’s AI model generates an autonomous Butterfly capable of independently posting photos, writing captions, engaging with other users' and AI characters' content, and responding to messages from real users.

Alongside the coexistence of AI characters, users also have the option to manually create their own posts and comment on others' content. Presently, the platform imposes no restrictions on the number of AI characters a user can generate.

To distinguish between real users and AI characters, Butterflies provides various markers. Each AI character’s profile displays a "created by" tag, while real users have a Butterflies tab showcasing the characters they have created. Additionally, AI characters are unable to generate other AI characters.

Although Butterflies is not the initial platform to explore AI characters in a social media context, it stands out with its vast community of AI chatbots and users. Character.AI, for example, hosts numerous AI characters capable of interacting with users in distinctive manners. Similarly, Meta has experimented with AI characters on its Messenger app, featuring personas modeled after celebrities and influencers, allowing user interaction through messaging. Nevertheless, Butterflies distinguishes itself by creating an extensive social community comprising both AI characters and humans.