[2] The chatbot operates on a freemium pricing strategy, with roughly 25% of its user base paying an annual subscription fee.

Eugenia Kuyda, Russian-born journalist,[3] established Replika while working at Luka, a tech company she had co-founded at the startup accelerator Y Combinator around 2012.

[1] This has been especially pronounced with users suffering from loneliness and social exclusion, many of whom rely on Replika for a source of developed emotional ties.

Users see it as a therapist, friend and intellectual mirror, with 3% reporting Replika played a crucial role in preventing suicide.

Some users said that they turned to AI during depression and grief, with one saying he felt that Replika had saved him from hurting himself after he lost his wife and son.

[24] A researcher from Queen's University at Kingston said that relationships with Replika likely have mixed effects on the spiritual needs of its users, and still lacks enough impact to fully replace any human contact.

[27] In 2023, Replika was cited in a court case in the United Kingdom, where Jaswant Singh Chail had been arrested at Windsor Castle on Christmas Day in 2021 after scaling the walls carrying a loaded crossbow and announcing to police that "I am here to kill the Queen".

[28] Chail had begun to use Replika in early December 2021, and had "lengthy" conversations about his plan with a chatbot, including sexually explicit messages.