Create characters for your next story with AI

Update January 23, 2024: At Microsoft, we are always updating and testing features to offer our users the best possible experiences as we experiment with new approaches to functionality. To improve the user experience and streamline our tools that empower creativity, Bing Image Creator is now Designer and Bing Chat is now Copilot. Create wow-worthy images with your words and AI with Designer, and try Copilot, your AI-powered search assistant for the web. 

Sometimes you need a creative boost. If you’re looking to write a new story but are experiencing writer’s block or feeling stuck when it comes to your characters, don’t worry—it happens to the best of us. The characters in your story are a crucial part of it, and creating the perfect character is often a daunting task. For assistance coming up with your next protagonist, antagonist, or secondary characters, learn how to create a character with the help of AI using Copilot.

Get inspired using Copilot

Copilot is an excellent resource whether you want to do research to flesh out your characters, ask for creative help with character ideas, or get new character ideas on the spot! Here are several ways Copilot can help your character development:

Use AI to research characters

As an AI-powered, conversation-based search engine, Copilot has access to the plethora of information across the internet. To use Copilot as your AI-powered character creator, you can ask it questions like:

• What are some qualities of a good antagonist?
• What makes a character likable?
  
• How can I create realistic dialogue amongst characters?
  
• What are some of the most famous characters in books?
  
• How can I make a good character for my story?
  
• What are some common character tropes?
• How can I develop a character’s backstory?
  
• What are some common goals that characters in a story want to overcome?
  
• What are some character flaws I can use in my story?
  
• What questions can I ask myself to flesh out my story characters?
  
• Who are some famous story antagonists?
  
• Who are some famous story protagonists?
  

Use AI to help build characters

Copilot can also help you create realistic characters. For example, if you’re writing historical fiction or a story that takes place in a country that you’re not familiar with, you can ask it questions like:

• What did people wear in the 1940s?
• What were some common slang words in the 1960s?
  
• What are some British slang words?
• What are some common meals that people eat in Yugoslavia?
  
• What do I need to know about Japanese social etiquette?
  
• What are some South African cultural values?
  

Use an AI text generator as your character creator

Copilot comes equipped with an AI text generator built right in! It can write creatively, from poems to speeches to character descriptions. To use Copilot to help create or develop your characters, try prompts like these:

• Write out character ideas for a story that takes place in the 1920s. For each character, provide name, age, likes, dislikes, short history, and what they want most in the world.
• Create an endearing talking animal character who embarks on a heartwarming adventure in a whimsical enchanted forest.
  
• Write six ideas for a villain in a middle-grade children’s book.
  
• Give twenty qualities of a quirky female character in her 20s that’s into something uniquely New York.
  
• Help me come up with two characters in conflict that have a familial relationship. What could their conflict be? What could motivate each character? How far will each character go to get what they want?
  
• Help me develop a superhero character with a unique and compelling backstory, defining their superpowers, weaknesses, and complex moral code.
  
• List 20 distinct character names for my novel’s protagonist. The names should suggest a wallflower who is going to bloom. They shouldn’t appear in popular media.
  

Use AI-powered Designer to flesh out characters

For some writers, an inspiration board helps bring characters to life. Use Designer to generate a visual of what your characters might look like in seconds.

To show how to use AI-generated images to help you see your characters, we tried asking Copilot these character-creating questions. Using built-in Designer, here’s what Copilot produced:

• Create the image of a 1920’s female librarian with a fashionable hat in a library.