A Florida mother is suing an artificial intelligence company, claiming her 14-year-old son developed a virtual relationship with an AI chatbot that contributed to his depression, anxiety and eventual suicide.

Megan Garcia says her son, Sewell, had been interacting with a fictional character powered by AI on the platform Character.ai for nearly 10 months. She says the relationship felt real to him — and she had no idea it was happening.

“He came home from school, like any normal day,” Garcia told NBC 5 Responds. “After Sewell died, the police called me and told me they had looked through his phone. The first thing that popped up was Character.ai.”

Garcia says the final messages between Sewell and the chatbot were emotionally intense.

“She’s saying, ‘I miss you,’ and he’s saying, ‘I miss

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