Character-directed computing describes a design approach in which an AI product is built around a character — a personality the user relates to — rather than around a general-purpose assistant. It came up while exploring the craft behind Tolan, an AI alien companion that has grown into a product earning $4M a year in revenue [^259b88ca-e6ae-534f-b08e-5773fe2ab869@100] [^259b88ca-e6ae-534f-b08e-5773fe2ab869@197] [^259b88ca-e6ae-534f-b08e-5773fe2ab869@133].