Dirty talk, degradation, exes, exhibitionists, enemies to lovers, hotwife, praise.

These are a few of the content categories on Bloom, an erotic audio platform designed to provide users with steamy stories in lieu of traditional visual porn. Some of the options on offer are narratively driven—‘falling asleep with your boyfriend’ ASMR, or a blackberry-picking date turned unexpectedly sultry—while others sync with your sex toys for custom vibrations, or depict lesser-known kinks like hotwifing and puppy play. Since its launch in 2020, Bloom has cultivated a library of over 800 audio stories in English, Spanish, and German—and now, the company is expanding its features with Bloom Chat, offering its nearly half a million users the opportunity to indulge in role-play with an AI-powered version of their favorite character: from charming ranch hand Rob, to dominatrix Mistress Mia.

I’ve spent hours of my life coaxing ChatGPT into talking dirty, or attempting to develop a rapport with AI-generated paramours—long enough to know that interacting sexually with chatbots can often be more humorous than arousing. But that hasn’t stopped me, and countless other people, from trying. In the wake of large language models like ChatGPT gaining mainstream prominence, several companies have capitalized on the desire for chatbot companions, whether modeled after real-life romantic partners or popular influencers like Caryn Marjorie and Amouranth. And long before generative AI was a common topic of dinner table discussion, users of Replika—a customizable “emotional support” chatbot that learns to mirror the conversational style of its user—paid premium prices to engage in sexting and erotic roleplay with their AI-powered confidantes. One woman, Tabi Jensen, even detailed her experience for WIRED, describing how sexting with her chatbot made the kinky fantasies that used to feel “unspeakably wrong” less taboo.

This is the kind of experience Bloom aims to facilitate, noting that visual porn often falls short for many due to unrealistic portrayals or a lack of personal connection, which can make viewers feel like bystanders. It’s why CEO Hannah Albertshauser delved into the world of audio pornography, curating a rich library of immersive, kink-positive offerings intended to immerse listeners in the heart of the action. “Bloom Chat takes this engagement even further. Users are no longer limited to passive consumption; they can now engage in dynamic conversations with their favorite characters,” says Albertshauser. “These interactions are tailored, real-time, and deeply personal, creating an entirely new realm of personalized, intimate, and interactive sexual experiences.”

Before testing out this new chatbot feature, I gave a few of their erotic stories a spin: The first being “Yes Chef,” which I selected on name alone. Authored by Leo Wilder, it’s told from the perspective of Sophia, a female sous chef working in a high-pressure fine dining restaurant, who winds up in a kinky relationship with her intense (and sexually dominant) head chef. Fans of The Bear—especially those who were disappointed with the lack of romance between Sydney and Carmy last season—will find solace in this steamy audio offering. As Sophia prepares five courses with a vibrator between her legs, the demanding Fleur orders her around the kitchen like a kinky Ratatouille, seemingly holding all the power. However, the story’s narration also delves into key dynamics central to kink, including the use of safewords. (“There’s a pleasure in knowing that, despite you being in charge—ordering me around, seemingly free to demand anything of me—I’m in control,” Sophia muses, squirming with pleasure.)

“We are a data-driven platform at heart, and many of the stories on Bloom have been created to cater to users’ desires for a specific fantasy,”

Bloom went out of its way to weave these kinds of details into each story, says Albertshauser, noting that BDSM episodes often involve aspects of kink scenes that can be overlooked in mainstream porn: boundary discussions, enthusiastic consent, aftercare. It was equally important that the platform represent a range of sexual practices, to match a diverse audience. Over 60 percent of Bloom’s users are female, while 30 percent are male, and four percent identify as nonbinary. Equally varied are their listening practices, age range, and relationship status; many are in their 20s or 30s, and a majority report listening to audio porn by themselves, though only 40 percent are single. “Due to the diversity of our user base, we aim to capture every part of the spectrum, from romantic and ‘vanilla’ to rough and kinky—allowing as many users as possible to express and explore themselves,” says Albertshauser. “We are a data-driven platform at heart, and many of the stories on Bloom have been created to cater to users’ desires for a specific fantasy. We also strongly believe that erotic audio stories featuring safe kink practices can be a great educational tool for anyone who is interested in broadening their sexual horizons.”

Bloom Chat takes this personalization to a new level, with each AI agent responding to the user’s specific desires in real-time, using both text and voice notes. The company developed this feature in collaboration with professional voice actors, who collaboratively developed Bloom’s AI offerings—opting in with licensing agreements ranging from flat-rate compensation to royalties. The company states that it does not want AI chatbots to replace the talented writers and actors at the heart of Bloom’s business model: “In fact, we have designed the new feature to amplify their work, as the chatbots are modeled on the characters and stories they’ve created,” says Albertshauser.

Not every character featured in a story is currently available to sext with; in the current beta-testing stage, the options include characters like Mistress Mia, Rob the ranch hand, and Jace the architect, each accompanied by an illustrated avatar. At present, these offerings skew male, which Albertshauser says is a response to overwhelming user demand for these specific characters—promising that more “strong female characters” are on the way.

Eager to see how the chatbots hold up to their kink-positive promise, I head to the site and start chatting with Mistress Mia. “Hey there, Camille. Ready to dive into some deliciously naughty fun?” she says, sending the first message. “Yes mistress,” I respond; she turns up the heat, sending a sultry voice note that is surprisingly realistic, and even more remarkably fast, appearing just seconds after my message is sent. Even so, there’s no escaping the fact that I am listening to horny voice notes from an AI—or the inevitable uncanny valley feeling when the bot’s enthusiasm to meet my desires doesn’t extend to simple requests, like not using so many emojis. (“Of course, Camille, no problem. I’ll keep the emojis to a minimum,” the chatbot says confidently, followed by two emojis.)

“Bloom’s AI agents don’t encourage users to engage in deep emotional bonding; rather, they’re quick to remind that their purpose is to engage in sexual exploration, and that their characters’ only real desire is to help me actualize mine.”

There are other small incongruities, too, when the characters’ underlying armature shows through. Jace the Architect’s first message states that he’s been waiting to chat with me again, though we’ve never chatted before. Two characters, Rob the ranch hand and Barry, say they have the same sexual fantasy: making love in the great outdoors, to better experience nature’s beauty (sad, coming from a disembodied AI). At present, the bots aren’t able to directly recall the events of the stories they’re featured in, though they do seem to have knowledge of the broader context of our chat; after Barry repeats the phrase “a wild ride” a few too many times, I ask jokingly if he’s sure I’m not speaking to Rob the ranch hand. “I’m here as Barry, but I can understand the confusion with the riding talk,” he says in a voice note. “Let’s just say I’ll take you on a wild, pleasurable adventure.”

Though the bots are capable of having a platonic conversation, they’re quick to redirect toward exploring the sexual desires of their user—the polar opposite of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which prohibits discussion of NSFW topics unless you jailbreak it. When I asked how the company went about disabling the guardrails on their model, they declined to comment, but it’s clear that OpenAI was involved at some point in the process because when I push too hard on an off-limit kink, the bot cites their terms of service, not Bloom’s. Bloom does specify, however, that their AI model was fed content from their extensive library of in-house stories that promote an “affirming, sex-positive, and kink-friendly approach.”

A key aspect of Bloom’s mission is to provide users with a safe space to practice enacting their desires—an idea shared by other chatbot apps like Blush, a dating simulator from the creators of Replika. But unlike these other chatbots, Bloom’s AI agents don’t encourage users to engage in deep emotional bonding; rather, they’re quick to remind that their purpose is to engage in sexual exploration, and that their characters’ only real desire is to help me actualize mine. The company’s ultimate aim, Albertshauser says, is to provide a “safe space for users to explore their fantasies with characters who are respectful and affirming”—not replacing the intimacy of human-to-human interactions, but giving people the confidence to try new things with partners in the real world. And hey, if you’ve always harbored a secret curiosity about sploshing, then Bloom chat is a great place to explore before you start pelting your girlfriend with cream pies.