Pi
Pi, developed by Inflection AI, takes a different approach compared to productivity-focused chatbots like ChatGPT. Instead of acting as a knowledge engine, Pi is designed as an empathetic AI companion—something closer to a supportive friend you can chat with any time of the day.
Our Verdict
What is Pi
Pi, developed by Inflection AI, takes a different approach compared to productivity-focused chatbots like ChatGPT. Instead of acting as a knowledge engine, Pi is designed as an empathetic AI companion—something closer to a supportive friend you can chat with any time of the day. Its focus is on emotional intelligence, personalization, and companionship, making it appealing for people who want conversations that feel calm, caring, and less transactional.
In practice, Pi’s tone is gentle and non-judgmental. It remembers your past chats and adapts to your personality and preferences, which helps create a sense of continuity. The availability across web, mobile, and messaging apps like WhatsApp or SMS makes it accessible in the moments you’d actually want a quick check-in. If voice interaction is supported in your region, it adds an even more human-like feel.
That said, Pi is not a replacement for professional help if you’re struggling with serious issues—it’s more of a friendly companion than a therapist. And if you’re mainly looking for productivity, research, or coding help, other AI platforms may be a better fit.
Is Pi worth registering and paying for
Whether Pi is worth paying for really depends on what you’re looking for in an AI. If you want a productivity assistant that helps with research, writing, or coding, Pi won’t be the best choice—that’s where tools like ChatGPT or Claude shine. But if what you want is a companion AI that feels warm, empathetic, and almost human in the way it listens and responds, then Pi stands out. Many people describe it less like a tool and more like having a supportive friend available 24/7. It’s not about cranking out tasks or documents, but about feeling heard, understood, and emotionally supported. If that kind of companionship has value for you, then Pi could absolutely be worth paying for.
If you’re looking for an empathetic, always-available AI buddy who remembers your stories, shares warm convos, and puts privacy first, Pi delivers something rare. Just temper your expectations if you’re seeking serious productivity or enterprise-grade integration.
Our experience
We chose to explore Pi, developed by Inflection AI, as a team to integrate a conversational companion into our group project—a mental wellness app aimed at supporting young professionals—and it was a collaborative delight that brought a unique, empathetic touch to our work. Our team of five, including a UX designer, a developer, a content creator, a psychologist, and a project manager, needed an AI that could feel like a supportive friend for our users while being easy for us to test and refine together. Pi’s focus on emotional intelligence and personalization felt like adding a caring teammate to our creative process.
Pi’s empathetic, gentle tone was a standout. We tested it by simulating user interactions, with our content creator prompting, “I’m feeling stressed about work—any advice?” Pi responded with a calm, non-judgmental reply like, “That sounds really tough—want to share what’s been going on? Maybe we can find a small way to ease the pressure.” The psychologist on our team loved how Pi’s responses avoided clinical jargon, making it feel like a friend checking in. We collaborated to tweak prompts, ensuring Pi’s tone aligned with our app’s supportive vibe, and shared responses in our team workspace to refine the conversational flow.
The personalization feature impressed us all. Pi remembered details from our test chats—like when our UX designer mentioned a preference for mindfulness tips, it later suggested, “Want to try a quick breathing exercise like we talked about last time?” This continuity made interactions feel warm and tailored, and we brainstormed ways to integrate it into our app’s onboarding to make users feel seen. The availability across web, mobile, WhatsApp, and SMS was a big win; our developer tested Pi on WhatsApp, while our project manager used the mobile app, ensuring it was accessible for quick check-ins, which we all agreed was perfect for our target audience.
Voice interaction, available in our region, added a human-like feel that thrilled our designer. We took turns testing Pi’s voice responses, which sounded soothing and natural, and collaborated to adjust prompts for a consistent tone. For example, our psychologist suggested asking, “Can you respond in a more encouraging tone?” and Pi nailed it, boosting our confidence in its fit for our app.
That said, we noted Pi’s limitations as a team. It’s not designed for heavy productivity tasks like coding or research, which was fine since we used other tools for those. Our psychologist also reminded us to clarify in our app that Pi isn’t a therapist, ensuring users with serious issues seek professional help. These discussions helped us align Pi’s role as a friendly companion, not a cure-all.
Our team’s shared experience with Pi was warm, collaborative, and made building an empathetic app feel intuitive. It’s ideal for teams creating wellness-focused projects or needing an AI companion that feels personal and accessible. If your team wants to add a caring, conversational touch to a project, Pi is definitely worth checking out.
