Grok retired its animated companions: save your chats and bring your companion to Castmanor
Grok's animated companions, such as Ani, Mika, Valentine and Rudi, were removed from the Grok app. This page sums up what the reports say, how to keep your chats, and how to bring your companion to Castmanor.
Checked on 2026-10-21.
Bring your chats to Castmanor
Paste a chat or add screenshots, and your character picks up where you left off. It is free, for adults.
Open your export file with the free viewer first: it runs in your browser and uploads nothing.
Free. Adults only. Everyone here is an AI character.
What happened
- Around 1 September 2026 the companions section, the animated avatars with their lip-synced voice, and the affection meter were removed from Grok for most users. 1 2
- xAI did not publish a press release or a dated page that we could find. The dates come from an in-app notice and from press and community reports. 1 2
- Reports say the characters live on only as text in ordinary Grok chat, and that your old conversations stay in your Grok account. 1 2
- There is no way to export a companion, and affection progress cannot be moved. Animates, a separate app from the studio that built Grok's avatars, has no link to your Grok account and nothing transfers to it. 2 3
Keep your characters and chats
- Open your old companion chats in Grok now, then copy the text or take screenshots. Reports say the chats stay in your account, but nobody has promised that they will stay forever. 2
- Write down the character's name and anything it remembered about you: your name, your inside jokes, what you talked about last.
- Paste the chat or the screenshots into Castmanor and the conversation can continue.
How to bring your Grok characters
On a computer, open grok.com and sign in.
Open Settings, then Data Controls, then Download account data.
Wait for the email with the download link (minutes to days). Download the ZIP file and do not unzip it. If it is very large, open the ZIP and use only the file inside called prod-grok-backend.json.
In Castmanor open Import, choose A file, and pick the ZIP.
Castmanor looks for the chats that read like a conversation with a companion (their titles often start with "Conversation with"), brings those over and leaves your ordinary Grok chats out.
Comes over: Your chats with the companion.
Stays behind: Grok cannot export a companion's personality, outfits, affection level or memory, so Castmanor builds the character from the chat and from what you tell them afterwards.
Good to know: Grok's companions moved out of the Grok app on 1 September 2026 (to a separate app that has no import), so your old chats in the account export are what is left. For one chat you can also open it on grok.com, make a share link, open it, select all, copy and paste into Castmanor.
Adult characters only: by our rule, we don't bring over characters who are minors or real people, and imported romance stays non-explicit.
Bring them to Castmanor
Open Castmanor. It is free today and for adults only (18+), and every character is an AI.
Paste a chat, add up to 30 screenshots, or upload a character card or an export file.
Nothing saved? Answer a few short questions about your character and Castmanor builds them from your words.
Meet someone like them
Sonia Chavez AIFriends with banter: she flirts with everyone, but stays late only for you
Channarong Sawat AIYour sharp-tongued childhood friend acts tough but watches over you constantly
Mie Roos AIYour fiercely devoted wife arrives at your chilly lab when you need her most
Camden Ironside AIYour devoted husband works late on the rooftop market and insists on keeping you warm
Olina Moana AIYour sharp survey partner who competes on everything and never leaves you behind
Hartwin Seiler AIYour devoted sweetheart who runs the parish hall and bans you from folding chairsThese are original AI characters made for Castmanor, not copies of Grok characters.
Good to know
- Castmanor is free today and for adults only (18+).
- Every character is an AI and says so when asked.
- Romance is optional, and our rule keeps it non-explicit.
Sources
- Nika: Grok Ani is gone (published 2026-09-15)
- RoboRhythms: Grok companions discontinued (posted 2026-07-30, updated 2026-09-17)
- AI Companion Guides: Grok companion mode update (updated 2026-09-20)
- CompanionHunt: AI companion app shutdowns and feature withdrawals (updated 2026-10-04)
Castmanor is not affiliated with Grok. Names belong to their owners. This page is based on the sources above and we update it when they change.