Character.AI Case Study

Discover how Character.AI implemented Aidora and enabled a new team member to fully take over leave of absence management—with zero background in leave and no formal training needed.

Quick Stats:

• Time savings per leave case: 20+ hours → less than 2 hours

• Employee complaints: 0 since implementing Aidora

• Leave pay miscalculations:  0 since implementing Aidora

  
  

“I’d be lost without this platform. Leave is a huge pain and Aidora makes it easy for both me and our employees” - Bryce Sullivan, People Operations @ Character.AI

About 

Character.AI is an advanced AI platform where users create and interact with chatbots that mimic human-like conversations. Using cutting-edge natural language processing and machine learning, Character.AI allows the development of unique characters with distinct personalities and behaviors. It caters to a variety of needs, from entertainment and companionship to productivity and education, fostering a space for creative and engaging AI experiences.

Challenge

Character.AI had employees taking leave in complex paid family leave states like California without a robust people team with leave experience.

When we met Character.AI, they had 130 employees across five paid family leave states, including California. Like many growing startups, they had a lean People team and weren’t using a PEO. While their Head of People had prior leave experience, day-to-day responsibility had recently transitioned to Bryce, who had moved from Recruiting into a broader People Operations role—with limited experience in managing leave.

Before Aidora, their leave process was messy and error-prone. One employee had been overpaid during their leave due to a lack of a formal system, leading to clawbacks and a poor employee experience. As Character.AI scaled, it became clear that they needed a platform that could automate compliance, ensure accurate pay coordination, and provide a clear, supportive experience for employees.

Their goals were clear:

1. Eliminate manual errors and overpayments

2. Improve employee experience and clarity around leave

3. Streamline and standardize the leave process across the company

“There were massive gaps in the leave process—overpayment, manual miscalculations, and zero visibility. It just didn’t work.”

Solution

With Aidora, Character.AI was able to implement a single source of truth for leave - from eligibility checks to leave pay calculations.

Character.AI adopted Aidora to centralize and streamline every aspect of leave management. From automated eligibility checks to pay calculations, compliance tracking, and employee-facing checklists, Aidora ensured that every case was handled consistently and accurately—without extra overhead.

As a first-time leave administrator, Bryce didn’t need specialized training or outside support. Aidora’s intuitive workflows guided him through exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to stay compliant—making a complex process feel simple.

Aidora also helped the team avoid one of the most painful employee experiences: leave pay mistakes. By automatically converting state and disability benefits into company pay periods, Aidora eliminated manual calculations and ensured employees received exactly what they were owed—on time. 

“Employees love it. There haven’t been any complaints—it’s super easy from their perspective, and they feel prepared for their leave period. Aidora makes it really easy to kick off a leave, go through eligibility, and stay organized.”

Results

Character.AI was able to reduce the time spent administering a leave by over 90% and eliminated pay errors—while giving employees a better leave experience.

Since rolling out Aidora, Character.AI has dramatically cut down the time required to manage each leave case and reduced compliance headaches. The platform has helped boost employee confidence in the process—leading to a smoother experience for everyone involved.

The results speak for themselves: 

• Time savings per leave case:  20+ hours → less than 2 hours

• Employee complaints: 0 since implementing Aidora

• Leave pay miscalculations:  0 since implementing Aidora

“Aidora gives me confidence that everything’s handled—and employees love how smooth the process is.”

The Future

Character.AI is excited for Aidora's future enhancements to their leave pay coordination feature that will track actual payments vs estimates.

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