Sex industry had the final say in VHS vs. Betamax wars. It has been said porn industry still decides whichever is the next media format. This might not be true anymore, as other types of content may be more influential. Yet, online searches for sex and adult keywords dominate chatbot related searches.
Although many amateur sex chatbots have been made, the industry has only been testing the waters. PornHub has also tested chatbots, mostly for searching and finding content.
We can see five main genres of chatbots in the adult industry:
- Companionship chatbots, such as virtual girl or boyfriends
- Content chatbots, which suggest and help find content.
- Broadcast chatbots, which broadcast daily or weekly content to subscribers
- Role-play chatbots which may be a new sub-genre of literary erotica
- Dating chatbots, which may replace dating sites and apps, such as Tinder
History of erotic chat
Leisure Suit Larry was one of the popular games of its era. Although not an AI-driven chatbot the games were story driven around erotic content. The Sims genre may also have included romantic, even erotic, actions as part of simulations of daily life. However, outside these two game series romantic or adult conversations have not gained popularity outside niche games.
Live chat, however, has become one of the main offerings of the adult industry replacing the sex phones of the past. AVN Adult Video News even had a category for best live chat sites 2011 - 2015.
Sex chatbots and the law
Globally, the sex industry is controlled by national laws. Most of the laws condemn graphic content, which may prohibit also linking to such material. Therefore, content and broadcast bots may need to limit the type of content available - or tailor content based on geographies.
Messaging channels and adults chatbots
Not only the law but the Terms Of Use of many messaging channels prohibit adult content bots. For example, Facebook restricts the display of sexual imagery unless it is posted for educational, humorous or satirical purposes. This may make some of the content in sex chatbot illegal. Erotica-focused chatbots may still be perfectly okay.
Skype also prohibits public display of its services for sharing inappropriate content, such as offensive language. In effect, these Terms of Use prohibit any marketing or communicating about adult content chatbots on Skype, although leaving some wiggle room for privately offered bots.
What are people searching for?
Most online searches related to chatbots are actually searching for live chats, which is one of the most important types of online porn offerings. Those searches especially focused on AI, and chatbot content are mostly for role-playing chatbots - starting from dirty talking chatbots to cybersex chatbots or even MILF chatbots.
Although many amateur chatbots have been built in this space, we have yet to see a well created role-playing chatbot. Majority of the role-playing chatbots in the virtual girl/boyfriend genre avoid sexual content. Chatbots focused on erotic content are often poorly made, and mostly quick tests in the space.
What is the future of sex chatbots? Although popular speech says the sex industry is at the forefront of many technologies VR sex content, smart sex toys, sex robotics or other types of digital adult content are still in its infancy. It remains to be seen how effective will interactive chatbots be in enhancing erotic literature. While the promise is large, the limitations raising from popular opinion, laws, and terms of service may make it a difficult field.