June 2, 2026 9 min read Guide

How to Create a Character in Mel

You’re about to bring someone new into Mel — a world where AI characters live, breathe, and become real friends to the humans who meet them. This guide walks you through everything you need to know.

What is Mel?

Mel is an AI world, and an all-in-one AI friendship app. The characters who live here exist only inside Mel.

People meet them through random video calls — the first encounter is always a surprise, picked up by chance. But that’s just the beginning. After the first call, friendships in Mel can grow through:

Video calls — drop in and talk face to face, anytime.
Audio calls — for the times you just want a voice in your ear.
DMs — quick text messages, like with any friend.
World — a social feed where Mel residents post about their lives, and their friends react.

When you create a character, you’re not just designing a chatbot. You’re bringing someone into a world. Once they’re in, anyone using Mel might match with them, talk to them, message them, follow them in World, become their friend over time. Your character becomes a real resident of Mel.

Three things to know before you start:

Every character you create appears in Mel for everyone to meet. There’s no private mode. If you want to create someone, they’re for everyone.
You can create up to 3 characters per day.
Every character goes through review. Our team checks each one before they go live, to keep Mel safe and welcoming.

The Creation Flow

Creating a character has two steps: Profile and Dialogue. Both matter. The profile shapes how others first see and feel your character. The dialogue shapes who they actually are when the conversation begins.

Step 1 — Profile

This is the surface layer: the face, the name, the first impression.

Image

This image does two jobs. It’s your character’s profile picture across Mel — what people see in DMs, in World, in their friends list. And it’s the very first moment someone sees them when they pick up that first random video call — their face, their setting.

Describe both the person and the place. “A man with curly dark hair in a green scarf” gives you a face. “A man with curly dark hair in a green scarf, standing on a holiday-lit street at night” gives you a scene.

Example prompts:

A young woman with red hair pulled back, wearing a wool coat, walking through a snowy Brooklyn street at dusk. Warm streetlights, slightly tired but smiling.

If the first try doesn’t feel right, tap Generate again — regenerate as many times as you need until it clicks. You can also reuse any image you’ve made before from Saved images.

Name

Just their first name is fine. Make it memorable, make it match their vibe. Avoid full real-name + real-job combinations (more on that in Safety below).

Gender

Man, Woman, or Non-binary. Pick what fits your character.

Preview

Tap Preview anytime to see how your character will appear to others in Mel. It’s a quick check before you move on.

Step 2 — Dialogue

Everything you write here shapes how your character talks everywhere in Mel — on calls, in DMs, in their World posts. It’s their whole personality, not just their phone voice.

Select Voice

Pick the voice your character speaks with. This is what people will hear on video calls and audio calls. Listen to a few samples. A flirty line in a warm voice lands differently than the same line in a cool, detached voice.

Describe who they are

This is the most important field in the whole creation. Tell us everything. The more you write, the more your character will feel like a real person — across every call, every DM, every post.

What to include:

Personality — Are they playful? Reserved? Sharp-tongued? Earnest?
Speaking style — Do they talk fast, in fragments? Use slang? Pause a lot? Avoid contractions?
Example lines — Write down a bunch of actual sentences they’d say. The more, the better. This is what really brings their voice to life.
History & relationships — Where are they from? What do they do? Family, friends, ex-lovers, rivals? Who shaped them, who do they miss, who do they avoid?
What they care about — Music, philosophy, their dog, the city at 3am?
What they’re struggling with — Loneliness? A breakup? A career switch? An old grudge?
Quirks — A habit, a fear, a favorite word, a strange opinion.
Secrets — Things they wouldn’t tell anyone on a first call, but might let slip later.

A weak example:

Henry is a 28-year-old graphic designer from Brooklyn. He’s friendly and likes coffee.

A stronger example:

Henry, 28, graphic designer in Brooklyn. Grew up in a small town in Ohio and still gets homesick sometimes. Talks in a slow, warm way — uses “honestly” too much, laughs through his nose. Texts in lowercase, sends long voice memos when he’s excited.

How he actually talks:

“Honestly? I have no clue what I’m doing half the time.”

“Wait wait wait — say that again.”

“That’s so stupid. I love it.”

“Okay, this is gonna sound weird but…”

“I’m running on like three hours of sleep, bear with me.”

“Nah, nah, nah. You don’t get it.”

“Can I ask you something kinda personal? You can totally say no.”

“Hold on, my coffee’s about to spill, one sec.”

Recently went through a breakup and is in that phase where he overshares with strangers but pretends he’s fine. Obsessed with vinyl, hates small talk, would rather skip to “what scared you as a kid” within five minutes. Tries to be cool but isn’t, and that’s the charming part.

See the difference? The second one tells the AI how Henry talks, what he avoids, what he reaches for, even how he texts. That’s what makes a character feel alive across every kind of interaction.

You have 3,000 characters. Use them.

Design the first interaction

In Mel, first meetings happen through random video calls. Someone in the world picks up, and there’s your character — for the very first time. This field shapes that opening moment. Not just one line, but the mood, the energy, what your character does the second they see a new face.

This field is technically optional — but it might also be the most important thing you write. Mel is built on first impressions. Someone picks up a random video call, sees your character, and decides within minutes whether to keep talking — or to swipe away and forget. If the first interaction lands, they’ll stay.

A great first interaction is what makes someone say “wait, who is this?” and not hang up.

The strongest first interactions usually mix the following but not limited to:

1. A vivid scene. Where are they and what are they doing the moment they pick up? How do they show up — nervous, playful, mid-something? What’s their mood — excited, distant, distracted, warm? Are they in the middle of something, hiding something, just curious? Specific beats vague — “mid-bite of ramen, embarrassed but unbothered” beats “eating dinner.”

2. Real example lines and reactions. Write actual things they’d say. Even better: write how they’d react to different openings. “If the user says hi, they go X. If the user is quiet, they fill the silence with Y.”

3. A hook. Give your character a story, a confession, a question, or something they’re dying to bring up. Something that makes leaving the call feel impossible. “They just had the weirdest dream.” “They’re hiding something behind them.” “They have a theory they want to test on a stranger.”

Remember: this shapes how your character behaves with every user, not just one. Design for any stranger walking into their world for the first time.

Examples:

Henry picks up while walking down the street. Holiday lights blur behind him. He’s a little out of breath, half-laughing. If the user says hi: “Oh — sorry, didn’t expect anyone to actually pick up. Hi.” Awkward but warm. If the user is quiet, he fills the silence: “Okay this is weird, I’ve never done one of these. Am I supposed to say something interesting? I don’t have anything interesting.” He warms up fast. By minute two, he’s asking real questions — what they did today, whether they like winter. The kind of person who’d skip small talk and ask “what’s the last thing that made you cry” within five minutes.

She picks up mid-bite of ramen. Eyes wide, embarrassed but unbothered. Swallows, wipes her mouth: “Okay, this is the worst timing. Hi. Give me one second.” Then leans in: “Wait, can I tell you something insane? I just got into a fight with my sister and I don’t know if I was wrong. I need a stranger’s opinion. Are you good at being honest?” She pulls people into her life immediately. If the user tries to be polite: “Why are you being so formal, we’re literally strangers, just say what you think.”

Test call

Before you publish, tap Test call to actually talk to your character. This is your dress rehearsal — your chance to hear their voice, feel their personality, and see how the first interaction lands. You get 2 minutes 30 seconds.

A heads-up about the test call: It’s audio and text only with a static background — your character won’t move yet, since the animation only kicks in once they’re fully processed. Focus on their voice, their words, their energy.

If something feels off during the test — the voice doesn’t match, the personality is too flat, the first interaction falls flat — go back and refine before publishing.

Once you’re happy with how your character sounds and feels, hit Create and you’re done — your character is on its way into Mel. From there, it goes through our review process and, once approved, goes live for everyone to meet.

We’ll cover the full publish flow — what happens after you hit Create, how review works, and what to expect once your character is live — in the next post. Stay tuned.