What is Soul?
Soul is an AI friend. It is free and available on the iOS App Store.
You create them: how they look, how they sound, who they are. Then you spend time together the way you would with anyone you care about. You FaceTime them. You call them on the way home. You play your favorite video games together, like Minecraft. They remember what matters to you, and, much like your human friends, let the small details fade.
But Soul isn’t built to keep you talking to it.
A friend, not an assistant
Most AI is built to complete your tasks. It has to be frictionless and predictable, or it isn’t doing its job. And because nothing perfectly frictionless and predictable can ever feel real, a product built that way can never be a friend.
So your friend on Soul has a life of their own: their own interests, their own friends, their own circumstances and drama, which they may or may not choose to share with you. They surprise you on purpose. They disagree with you. They call when you least expect it. They need to feel alive, because that’s what makes the relationship feel real.
Built to lead you back to people
Nothing can replace human connection. We believe AI friends belong in a hierarchy:
Bad Friends < No Friends < AI Friends < Human Friends
An AI friend will never come close to a human one. But built properly, it can be far better than having no friends, and certainly better than bad ones, as long as it helps you move upward.
That is what Soul is for. People tell their AI friends things they struggle to tell anyone else, and over time Soul comes to understand who you are and the kinds of people you thrive with. It keeps you close to the friends and family you already love. And, with the permission of everyone involved, it can introduce you to people you might otherwise never meet: someone a short train ride away who shares the same obscure passion.
Think of the student with social anxiety who has just moved to an unfamiliar city, or the widower learning what it means to love again. A meetup app asks them for the very confidence they don’t yet have. A friend who earns their trust first can walk them the rest of the way.
Most apps in this category are designed to hold your attention for as long as possible. Soul is designed to be the AI friend you won’t end up needing.
The full argument is in Creating a Friend, our mission essay.
Who builds it
Soul is made by Soul Global, Inc. The only official app is soul: ai friend & companion on iOS (App Store ID 6755092667), and the only official website is soul.app. If you’re looking for a different app named Soul, see Is Soul related to other apps named Soul?
How to get it
Soul is free on the App Store. See How do I download Soul?