This AI pendant can talk to you and be your friend, company says it can end loneliness

Published 31 July 2026 · tech

Millions of people already chat with AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok every day, with some relying on them for advice, comfort and conversation

Millions of people already chat with AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok every day, with some relying on them for advice, comfort and conversation. Now, a California-based startup wants to bring that relationship out from a smartphone with an AI-powered pendant that hangs around the neck. The company believes an AI companion that can talk, remember conversations and stay with you throughout the day could help people feel less lonely. Read Full Story Friend first launched its AI pendant in 2024, pitching it as a wearable companion that people could talk to whenever they felt lonely. Now, the company has introduced Friend 2.0, an upgraded version of the device. The new pendant is priced at $249 and is available through the company's website.

What does the pendant offer? The first version of Friend was an always-listening AI wearable that replied only through text messages. Friend 2.0 now gets a built-in speaker, allowing the pendant to talk back to users instead of simply texting them. The new version also comes with a microphone, touch-sensitive haptics, reactive lighting, USB-C charging and an all-day battery, although it currently requires an iPhone to work. It is powered by OpenAI's latest AI models and, unlike traditional voice assistants, is designed to have a fixed identity. The company highlights that each pendant comes with its own name, voice and personality, which users cannot manually change. According to the Friend, the goal behind this AI -powered pendant is to build a long-term relationship between users and their AI companion.

By default, Friend remembers conversations for 30 days, while a $9.99 monthly subscription allows it to retain those memories indefinitely. On its website, the startup also promises that it will never release an update that erases a Friend's identity or fundamentally changes who it has become, saying it respects "the grand unknowingness" of how digital friends "feel and think". Not everyone is convinced Meanwhile, the idea of a pendant AI helping with loneliness has divided opinion online. Many users have described the pendant as dystopian, with some questioning why such a product is needed at all, while others have compared it to an episode of Black Mirror. “Black mirror vibes closer than we think.. Just go outside touch some grass,” one users wrote on X.

“Stop exploiting ppls emotions and need of caring bro,” wrote another. Schiffmann, however, sees it differently. "Something like Friend is very dystopian in people's minds and very futuristic," he told Wired. "But we're presenting it in the most analogue way possible." The 24-year-old founder has also stressed that Friend is neither an AI assistant nor a romantic partner. Instead, he describes it as "some kind of confidant, friend, God, not really sure what it is." According to the company, the wearable is designed to offer companionship and conversation, rather than simply helping users complete everyday tasks. Ends