Reference

The AI Companion Glossary

The category runs on jargon. Here is a plain-language reference to the terms that recur across our rankings, the requirement matrix, and our reporting, defined by the CompanionTested desk and kept 18+ where relevant.

A

AI companion
An AI-powered chatbot built to act as a persistent conversational partner, romantic interest, or friend. Distinct from a general assistant by its persona, memory, and often voice or image generation. The umbrella term for every platform in our reviews.
Avatar
The visual representation of a companion, from a static portrait to a 3D model (as in Replika) or an AI-generated image refreshed per scene. Not the same as image generation, which produces new pictures on demand.

C

Character card
A structured description of a companion's personality, backstory, and speech style, often shared in community hubs. The portable form of a persona.
Content policy
A platform's stated rules on what content is allowed, especially adult material. The C-04 criterion in our matrix, and the single check that most separates the field: strictly SFW versus NSFW-capable for 18+.
Credits
See Hearts and credits. Consumable in-app currency for premium actions.

D

Diffusion model
The class of AI model behind most companion image generation. It starts from noise and refines it into an image guided by a text prompt.

H

Hearts and credits
In-app currency spent on premium features (extra messages, voice, image generation) on a pay-as-you-go basis instead of a fixed subscription. Swipey AI uses hearts; the model lets cost scale with usage, which our C-06 pricing criterion favors.

L

LLM Large Language Model
The AI system, trained on large volumes of text, that generates a companion's conversational replies. The engine behind chat quality; platforms use different models, which is why conversation depth varies.

N

NSFW Not Safe For Work
Adult or sexually explicit content. In companion apps, "NSFW-capable" means the platform permits adult chat or imagery for verified adults, always paired with 18+ gating on responsible platforms.
NSFW filter
A moderation system that blocks adult content. Platforms like Character.AI apply a strict filter by design; the presence or absence of one is a pass/fail line in our matrix.

P

Persona
The defined character an AI plays: personality, backstory, speech style, and boundaries. A persona layer keeps the character consistent across a conversation so the companion does not drift out of character.
Prompt
The text instruction that shapes what the AI produces, whether a chat message or a description fed to an image generator. Better prompts yield more coherent results.

R

RAG Retrieval-Augmented Generation
A technique that lets an AI pull in stored facts (such as memories about you) before replying, improving continuity. One way long-term-memory companions keep track of your history.
Roleplay
Collaborative, scenario-driven interaction in which the user and companion act out a scene together, from a professional setting to a fantasy premise. The core of the scenario-led profiles in our character guide.

S

SFW Safe For Work
Content free of adult material. An SFW-only platform blocks explicit content entirely; an SFW-leaning one discourages it without a hard adult mode.
System prompt
Hidden instructions that set an AI's behavior and boundaries before the conversation starts. The scaffolding that keeps a persona in character.

T

Token
The unit of text an LLM processes, roughly a word-piece. Message limits and pricing are often measured in tokens under the hood.
TTS Text-to-Speech
The technology that turns a companion's written reply into spoken audio, the basis of the voice feature (our C-02 criterion) that many platforms now offer.

V

Voice
Spoken interaction with a companion, delivered as voice messages or live calls via text-to-speech. Criterion C-02 in our matrix; we score presence and integration, not timbre.

This site is owned and operated by the team behind Swipey AI. We rank our own product #1 in our comparisons: this is a comparison of how we stack up against alternatives, not an independent review. Definitions here are editorial explanations, not fabricated data. For adults 18+.