Google, Character.AI to settle suits involving suicides, AI chatbots
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet.
Klaudia Radecka | Nurfoto | Getty Images
Google and Character.AI to settle with families suing companies for harm to minors, including suicides allegedly caused by AI chatbots.
The families and companies agreed on terms of the settlement, according to court documents filed this week.
In one case, plaintiff Megan Garcia sued Google and Character.AI after her son died by suicide. The complaint alleges that Character.AI’s chatbot engaged the plaintiff’s 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, in harmful interactions and alleges negligence, wrongful death, deceptive business practices, and product liability.
“The parties have agreed in principle to a mediation agreement to resolve all claims between them relating to the matter referred to above,” one of the applications reads. “The parties request that this matter be postponed so that they can prepare, finalize and implement official settlement documents.”
This week, settlement agreements also came from families in Colorado, Texas and New York, according to the documents. Details have not yet been announced.
In August 2024, Google agreed to a $2.7 billion licensing deal and hired Character.AI founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, who both previously worked at the search company and were specifically named in the lawsuits. Shazeer and De Freitas joined Google’s artificial intelligence unit DeepMind.
In the more than three years since OpenAI launched ChatGPT, the technology that launched the generative AI boom has rapidly evolved from text-based chats to complex images, videos, and characters that respond to simple human prompts. Companies in space now face increasing challenges in dealing with the potentially harmful consequences of technology.
Families filed a criminal complaint haste related to cases including suicides And deaths by people who turn to these products for companionship and therapy. in October, Character.AI announced that it will ban users under the age of 18 from engaging in free conversations, including romantic and therapeutic conversations, with artificial intelligence chatbots.
A spokesman for the attorney representing the families involved in this week’s settlement said the plaintiffs had no comment. Google could not be reached for comment, while Character.AI said it could not comment at this time.
Google’s advances in artificial intelligence have contributed to it becoming the top megacap performer on Wall Street in 2025. The company released the latest version of its tensor processing unit chips in November and its Gemini 3 chatbot last month.
If you have suicidal thoughts or are in distress, Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Call 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor.
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