When Generative AI Is Intimate, Sexy, and Violent: Examining Not-Safe-For-Work (NSFW) Chatbots on FlowGPT

TL;DR

This study analyzes 376 NSFW AI chatbots on FlowGPT, revealing diverse types, explicit content generation, and implications for safety, design, and moderation in AI-driven NSFW interactions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive characterization of NSFW chatbots, their functionalities, and user interactions, highlighting the prevalence of explicit content and virtual intimacy features.

Findings

Four chatbot types identified: roleplay, story, image, do-anything-now.

Explicit content appears in prompts and outputs, often without user intent.

Many chatbots use explicit avatars and foster intimate or violent interactions.

Abstract

User-created chatbots powered by generative AI offer new ways to share and interact with Not-Safe-For-Work (NSFW) content. However, little is known about the characteristics of these GenAI-based chatbots and their user interactions. Drawing on the functional theory of NSFW on social media, this study analyzes 376 NSFW chatbots and 307 public conversation sessions on FlowGPT. Findings identify four chatbot types: roleplay characters, story generators, image generators, and do-anything-now bots. AI Characters portraying fantasy personas and enabling hangout-style interactions are most common, often using explicit avatar images to invite engagement. Sexual, violent, and insulting content appears in both user prompts and chatbot outputs, with some chatbots generating explicit material even when users do not create erotic prompts. In sum, the NSFW experience on FlowGPT can be understood as a combination of virtual intimacy, sexual delusion, violent thought expression, and unsafe content acquisition. We conclude with implications for chatbot design, creator support, user safety, and content moderation.