Updated September 2026. On September 28, 2026, Character AI added two free chat styles, PipSqueak 3 and ShortSqueak, and made PipSqueak 3 the style new chats start on, with free accounts getting both over the following few days. PipSqueak 2 and PipSqueak 2 Rawr moved to the Legacy menu, and DeepSqueak, Soft Launch and LongSqueak stay on the c.ai+ subscription.
If a new chat sounds different from your older ones, or PipSqueak 2 is missing from the main picker, the September 28 change is the reason. This guide explains the seven styles available now, what the April and May clearout removed and why, how to reach the older styles, and what each style actually did.
What happened to Character AI chat styles
Character AI now runs seven chat styles, and new chats start on PipSqueak 3, which arrived with ShortSqueak on September 28, 2026. Getting there took a cull of most older styles between April 28 and May 8, when PipSqueak 2 became the free default, followed by PipSqueak 2 Rawr on May 29 and LongSqueak for c.ai+ in August.
If the style changes are what finally pushed you to look elsewhere, Candy AI is where we point Character AI users first.
Character AI labels the setting a chat style, but people search for it as a chat model or a chat mode too. All three names mean the response engine behind how fast, how long, and how in character your replies come out.
For most of 2025 you picked that engine yourself. The lineup grew to nine named presets: Meow, Roar, Nyan, Dynamic, Soft Launch, Goro, Pawly, DeepSqueak, and PipSqueak.
That changed fast. Roar, Pawly, Goro and Dynamic were retired on April 28, 2026, in the same announcement that made PipSqueak 2 the free default. Meow, Nyan and Soft Launch moved to a Legacy menu that day, and around May 8 Meow and Nyan were retired while Soft Launch came back as a c.ai+ style.
The community reaction was loud. Character AI’s own announcement thread drew more than 600 comments, and “bring back Roar” posts dominated the subreddit for a week. The backlash was covered by outlets like PiunikaWeb, and we tracked the full play-by-play in our May report on the removals.
What is still available in 2026
The picker shrank in May and has grown back since. Here is the lineup from September 28, 2026:
- PipSqueak 3 is the free default for new chats, and our PipSqueak 3 guide covers how it differs from PipSqueak 2.
- ShortSqueak is the other new free style, built for “short replies, quick banter, casual roleplay” in Character AI’s words.
- PipSqueak 2 and PipSqueak 2 Rawr moved to the Legacy menu. Chats already running on them stay on them, and Character AI says it will give notice before retiring a style you use.
- DeepSqueak survived the cull and needs c.ai+, though (c.ai) lite gives a daily amount of it.
- Soft Launch returned on May 8 as a c.ai+ style.
- LongSqueak arrived for c.ai+ on August 5, 2026, built for long-form roleplay with “4x the memory”, and (c.ai) lite gets a daily amount of it too.
Everything else on the old list is gone for now. PipSqueak 2 itself has been divisive: many users say it talks for them, breaks character, and gives shorter replies than Roar did. We cover the common complaints and fixes in the PipSqueak 2 fix guide and the “talking for you” fix.
Which Character AI chat style is best?
LongSqueak is the strongest paid chat style on current reports, and DeepSqueak is the other long-form option on c.ai+. LongSqueak was built for long-form roleplay with four times the memory, while DeepSqueak drew complaints in September 2026 that its replies had collapsed to a few lines.
On a free account, start with PipSqueak 3 for general roleplay and try ShortSqueak when you want quick back-and-forth. Both launched on September 28, so early verdicts on them are still settling.
Soft Launch suits bolder, less filtered scenes, though some users have called it buggy. For a straight head to head, see our DeepSqueak vs PipSqueak comparison.
Why did Character AI remove chat styles?
Character AI gave its reasons in the April 28 announcement: most chats already ran on its flagship styles, PipSqueak and DeepSqueak, and the Memory, Facts and Lorebook upgrades it had announced the week before “all require these new styles”. It said it would carry what it had learned from the older styles into PipSqueak 2.
DeepSqueak stayed on c.ai+ through the cut, and Soft Launch came back there on May 8. Character AI’s Help Center now describes how retirements work in its Legacy menu article: older styles move to the Legacy menu as newer ones arrive, and they are retired over time with notice to the people using them.
How to get the old chat styles back
Character AI retired Roar, Nyan and the other April and May styles outright, so no setting in the app restores them, though it pitched Rawr as carrying “some of that classic Roar feeling”. PipSqueak 2 and Rawr are easier, because they sit in the Legacy menu and chats already running on them stay put. A c.ai+ subscription unlocks DeepSqueak and Soft Launch, and we cover the workarounds users have tried in how to bring back Roar after the PipSqueak 2 rollout.
If the real problem is that replies feel short or capped, that is usually a separate limit rather than a style issue. See our guide on the Character AI swipe limit if you keep hitting walls mid-conversation, and the breakdown of what happens when a thread hits its chat limit if the conversation stops rather than shortens.
What each chat style actually did
Each Character AI chat style below behaved differently on speed, reply length, and how well it held character. Most of them have been retired, so treat this as a reference for recognising what changed in your own chats and judging which current style comes closest. The availability column in the comparison table shows the current status of each one.
Meow
Meow was designed for speed. Users described it as giving faster replies with less thinking, which made it a good option for quick back-and-forth without waiting long for a response. The tradeoff was that answers could feel shallow or rushed, sometimes producing repetitive or unfinished lines when it tried to keep pace.
Example: If you typed “Tell me about the castle we’re entering,” Meow would respond instantly with a short, simple description. It worked well if you valued speed over depth.
Roar
Roar balanced speed with more thoughtful replies. Many users said it produced smarter, longer responses that could fill a screen, which made it popular with roleplayers who wanted quick interaction plus stronger immersion. Reactions were mixed: some praised it as “heavenly,” others complained about repetitive, copy-paste lines, and a few noticed it slipping into shorter messages over time.
Example: In the same castle scenario, Roar gave a descriptive passage about the architecture and atmosphere. It slowed slightly compared to Meow, but the result felt more alive. Its removal on April 28 is what triggered most of the backlash.
Soft Launch
Soft Launch was a less filtered, bolder style that allowed spicier creative responses than Roar or Meow. It was popular with users who felt Character AI was too restrictive for mature roleplay.
The main drawback was consistency, some called it buggy or incomplete, though it handled chaotic, unpredictable scenes well. It is one of the few styles that returned, now behind c.ai+.
Nyan
Nyan was widely seen as the “smarter” option. Users described it as producing more thoughtful, higher-quality replies that felt deliberate rather than rushed. It took longer to respond and sometimes broke, cutting replies short, but when it worked it was often called the closest thing to a genuinely intelligent conversational partner among the styles.
Example: Asked for detailed world-building, Nyan would layer in the culture, politics, and history of a setting rather than a one-line answer. It felt like the model had actually thought about the reply, which is exactly the depth that disappeared on May 8.
DeepSqueak and LongSqueak
DeepSqueak was tuned specifically for roleplay. Many users called it the best option for immersive storytelling because it generated long, detailed, character-driven replies.
The catch was stability: it had a reputation for breaking, going out of character, or apologizing mid-conversation. It survived the 2026 cull and still needs c.ai+ for unlimited use.
Example: Exploring a haunted forest, DeepSqueak delivered atmospheric paragraphs full of sensory detail, then occasionally inserted an out-of-place “Sorry, I didn’t mean to” that broke the flow.
LongSqueak joined DeepSqueak on c.ai+ on August 5, 2026, when Character AI announced it as a style made for long-form roleplay and storytelling with “4x the memory”. Its Style Control dials set the length to Long, Looong or Loooooong, with no short setting, and tilt replies toward dialogue or narration, which our LongSqueak explainer covers in detail.
Dynamic
Dynamic adjusted automatically based on your conversation instead of sticking to one preset. If you shifted from lighthearted banter to serious storytelling, it tried to respond in kind.
That flexibility appealed to users who did not want to pick a single style, though it could feel inconsistent. Some called it their go-to, saying it “blended them all into one,” while others found it unpredictable.
Goro
Goro was described as less spicy and more restrained, the “family-friendly” style with safe, sometimes robotic replies. A few users reported the opposite, with Goro unexpectedly producing detailed or spicy content, an inconsistency likely tied to its beta status. It suited toned-down, neutral conversations but felt flat for emotional or imaginative roleplay.
Pawly
Pawly stood out for handling languages better, with fewer errors in grammar and translation, which made it useful for chatting in languages other than English. It produced smoother roleplay than Roar, though the difference was sometimes subtle. It was pulled alongside Roar on April 28.
PipSqueak and PipSqueak 2
The original PipSqueak style appeared in 2025, described as a lighter version of DeepSqueak that kept much of the immersive roleplay strength without breaking as often. Many praised it as “absolutely amazing”, and by April 2026 Character AI counted it and DeepSqueak as the two flagship styles carrying most chats.
PipSqueak 2 replaced it as the free default on April 28, 2026, and its reception was far cooler than the original’s, with widespread complaints about short replies and the model talking on the user’s behalf. On September 28, PipSqueak 3 replaced PipSqueak 2 as the default for new chats.
PipSqueak 2 Rawr, a chattier variant with more dialogue, began rolling out to every account on May 29, 2026 and was never a default, so it had to be picked for each new chat. Both PipSqueak 2 styles now sit in the Legacy menu.
Comparison of Character AI chat styles
| Chat Style | Strengths | Weaknesses | Availability (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PipSqueak 3 | General roleplay, the new default | Too new to judge | Free default for new chats (from Sep 28) |
| ShortSqueak | Short replies, quick banter | Too new to judge | Free (from Sep 28) |
| PipSqueak 2 | Everyday roleplay, where existing chats stay | Short replies, talks for you, breaks character | Legacy menu (free default Apr 28 to Sep 28) |
| PipSqueak 2 Rawr | Chattier scenes with more dialogue | Never a default, pick it for each chat | Legacy menu (from Sep 28) |
| LongSqueak | Long-form roleplay, 4x the memory | No short setting | c.ai+ (lite: daily amount) |
| DeepSqueak | Detailed roleplay, immersive storytelling | Breaks often, goes out of character | c.ai+ (lite: daily amount) |
| Soft Launch | Less filtered, bolder mature replies | Buggy, can lose track | c.ai+ (18+) |
| Roar | Balanced speed and detail, longer responses | Inconsistent, sometimes formulaic | Removed Apr 28 |
| Meow | Fast replies, good for quick chats | Shallow or rushed, repetitive | Removed May 8 |
| Nyan | Smarter, more thoughtful replies | Breaks sometimes, slower | Removed May 8 |
| Dynamic | Adapts to conversation automatically | Inconsistent, unpredictable | Removed Apr 28 |
| Goro | Restrained, safe, neutral tone | Flat, robotic, sometimes soulless | Removed Apr 28 |
| Pawly | Better at languages, fewer errors | Less creative, subtle gains only | Removed Apr 28 |
Choosing a chat style now
Free users have a real choice again: PipSqueak 3 for general roleplay, ShortSqueak for quick chats, and PipSqueak 2 or Rawr for a story that already runs on them. The practical question is whether the depth you want is worth c.ai+ at $9.99 a month in the US, or (c.ai) lite at $4.99 a month for a daily amount of DeepSqueak and LongSqueak.
To switch, Character AI’s May 29 post gives the path: in a chat, tap your persona image at the bottom left to open the chat menu, then select Chat Style Picker.
If you mainly want longer, more immersive roleplay, c.ai+ with LongSqueak or DeepSqueak is the closest replacement for what Roar and Nyan used to give you. If your frustration is short or capped replies, check whether you are hitting the swipe limit first, since that affects every style. And if you are weighing whether to leave the platform entirely, our roundup of sites like Character AI covers the alternatives people are moving to.
