Short little soap operas on TikTok are all the rage in Hollywood. Can the AI industry cash in?

Character.ai enters the microdrama race with c.ai Series, letting viewers chat with characters after episodes and testing whether characters can drive engagement.

In an interesting twist that takes advantage of the company's core product, users can chat with these shows' characters, ask them questions, and even roleplay different storylines.

The fraught chatbot company is entering the crowded world of vertical videos — with an AI twist.