A holiday gift guide rounds up nine AI robot pets, and the label covers a wider range than the word "AI" suggests.
The guide's author said there is something for almost every budget, but gave no prices, so that claim is untested. The nine are Casio's Moflin, Loona, EMOPET, ropet, Eilik, Looi, the Luka Kids Reading Robot, Petoi's Bittle X V2 and YONBO's Aipi-Lite.
Sorted by what the AI does, they fall into three groups. Moflin, EMOPET and ropet lean on personality. Moflin is a furry creature that reacts to being stroked and only reveals its feelings as a bond builds. EMOPET has a wide-angle camera and hundreds of expressions. Loona, ropet and YONBO add ChatGPT-powered conversation. Loona also recognizes faces and gestures through its camera, and YONBO offers voice cloning and memory storage.
The third group is narrower. Luka recognizes compatible picture books and reads them aloud to children aged 6 and up, which the guide describes as recognition technology rather than generative AI. Bittle X V2 is a programmable four-legged kit for ages 10+ and adults, aimed at tinkerers more than cuddlers.
The fine print is where the products differ most. ropet remembers chats for a year, but free conversation is limited to 20 minutes a day, with extra credits earned by caring for the pet in its app. The original Eilik can't hold AI conversations on its own; a separate AI Station adds voice, a camera and interactive features. Looi uses a smartphone as its brain and face.
That makes conversation the part to check before buying. One pet meters it, another sells it as an add-on, and a third needs a phone you already own. Moflin sits at the other end, built around a slow reveal of feelings. Whether that slow build holds a gift recipient's interest after the holidays is something a gift guide cannot tell you.