Decades out, Napster relaunches as AI companion service with photorealistic avatars for $19/month

Napster has relaunched as an AI company offering “Napster Companions”—AI-generated agents with distinct personalities that users can chat with via video interfaces. The rebranded platform, owned by a Florida company that purchased the Napster name for $207 million in March, represents yet another reinvention of the once-famous file-sharing brand, this time targeting the growing market for personalized AI assistants.

What you should know: The AI companions are designed to provide expertise across various domains, from cooking and finance to health and software development.

• Users pay $19 monthly or $219 annually for access, with the annual plan including a “Napster View”—a 2.1-inch circular holographic display that clips onto computer monitors.
• The platform runs on Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service and offers 15 minutes of free interaction for new users.
• If a specific expert doesn’t exist, the system “auto-generates a new one on the fly, in real-time.”

How it works: Each AI agent incorporates “thirty psychometric parameters that make each agent distinct with its own character, domain expertise, communication style, and task fluency.”

• Users can browse available companions by category or ask questions directly to specific agents.
• The platform relies heavily on voice input, limiting its utility in public spaces.
• AI agents appear as photorealistic video avatars that speak and gesture during conversations.

The testing experience: PCMag’s hands-on trial revealed mixed results across different subject areas.

• A gardening expert recommended non-native plants for Northern Virginia, missing the “native” specification in the query.
• A baking specialist provided accurate bread-making advice but abruptly stopped mid-sentence when asked for clarification.
• A finance expert correctly explained tax implications of mutual fund trading and suggested appropriate research resources.

Technical limitations: The AI-generated videos suffer from noticeable quality issues that detract from the user experience.

• Mouth movements don’t properly sync with synthetic speech.
• Avatar bodies remain unnaturally fixed while speaking, creating an “unpleasant contrast” with promotional thumbnails.
• The stilted animations reminded the reviewer of “slightly animatronic characters” from 1990s CD-ROM games.

Why this matters: Napster’s latest incarnation highlights both the potential and current limitations of AI-powered personal assistants.

• The platform attempts to solve the “human face” problem of AI chatbots by creating distinct personalities for different domains.
• However, the 15-minute free trial may be insufficient for users to discover meaningful value in extended AI conversations.
• The company’s disclaimer warns users that “generated responses might be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading.”

What they’re saying: The company emphasizes the breadth of its AI expertise in its marketing materials.

• “The Napster Companion library covers a nearly infinite number of categories of knowledge such as cooking, health, finance, education, fitness, design, software development, and much more,” according to the press release.

Bottom line: While Napster’s AI companions show promise in some specialized areas, users should approach the platform cautiously, especially for high-stakes topics like tax strategy or medical advice, and test lower-risk subjects before committing to paid subscriptions.