How to create an AI girlfriend, step by step

What you need

A browser on a phone or a computer, about a minute of attention, and for the last step an email address or a Google account. There is nothing to install, no photo to prepare and nothing to write except her name. If you would like inspiration first, browse the models or the presets; both have buttons that bring their settings into the studio.

Before you start

Open the studio on the home page or at the Studio link in the menu. You will see five stages across the top: Look, Personality, Relationship, How you met and Name. Above them are three tools. Surprise me fills every step at random. Start from a model lets you copy one of our twenty models' settings. Start over clears everything. Beside the steps, the fitting room shows the model closest to your picks and lists what you have chosen so far.

Step 1: her look

The first stage has three parts. First, her background: twelve tiles from European to Mixed, each setting her features and skin tone together. Then her body on a six-stop slider from Slim to BBW. Press Next and choose her bust, her hair colour from nine swatches and her hair style from seven cuts. Press Next again for her eyes, her makeup, and optional tattoos and piercings.

A practical tip: decide her hair carefully. It is the first thing you will recognise in every photo, and copper curls or a platinum braid make her unmistakable. Slim with a Small bust is not offered as a pair, so if you want a slim girl, give her at least a Medium bust.

Step 2: her personality

Six temperaments set how she talks. Sweet is warm and romantic. Flirty makes the first move. Dominant sets the pace and expects you to keep up. Shy is quiet until she trusts you. Wild is spontaneous and bold. Caring always asks how you really are. Choose the one you want to hear from every day, because personality shows in every message, while looks only show in photos.

Step 3: what you are to each other

Four options. Girlfriend: affectionate, a little jealous, she calls you babe. Lover: hungry for time with you and never getting enough. Stranger: someone you just met, curious and testing. Friend: years of friendship turning into something more. This line goes into her instructions, so it changes how she greets you and what she assumes about the two of you.

Step 4: how you met

Twelve scenes, from the first date to the layover. The scene dresses her for her first photos, places her somewhere with real light, and gives her the first line of your story. If you are unsure, think about the mood you want: the ski chalet is slow and cosy, last call is late and direct, the festival is loud and impulsive, after hours at the office is close and a little secret.

Step 5: name and age

Give her a first name, up to twenty letters. Names of famous people are refused, because every girl here is fictional. Set her age with the slider, anywhere from 20 to 45; it starts at 25. Whatever the number, she is drawn as an adult woman.

Pressing Create

If you are not signed in, the studio asks you to sign up with an email or Google; your choices are kept while you do. Your first creation of the day is free. A second one the same day costs 50 credits, and the studio tells you before anything is charged. On very busy days the studio may say it is full and ask you to come back tomorrow, with your choices saved.

Common mistakes

Picking everything at random and then wondering why she feels generic: decide her personality and the scene on purpose, even if you let Surprise me pick the rest. Choosing a very busy look: two or three distinctive details, such as freckles and a nose ring, read better in photos than five. Skipping the relationship step: it changes how she greets you more than you would think. Expecting a photo editor: the studio draws a new girl, it does not adjust an existing picture.

While she is drawn

Her cover photo is drawn first. You see a short sequence as she comes together: her traits, her tagline, how you met and her first words. Then her chat opens and she starts the scene. Four more photos are drawn in the background and appear in her private profile as they finish. The cover usually takes a few minutes, longer when the studio is busy, and the screen shows where she is in the queue.

After she is ready

From her private profile you can ask for six more photos of the same face, change her name, personality, relationship or scene, or make a Variation: a new girl with the same settings and a different face. In the chat she remembers what you tell her, replies in your language and sends photos when they fit; the first photo in every chat is free. Your girl is visible only to you.