{
  "name": "AI Game Companion Five-Type Taxonomy",
  "status": "Editorial model; not an industry standard",
  "updated": "2026-07-22",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://aigamecompanion.com/types-of-ai-game-companions/",
  "types": [
    {
      "id": "coaching",
      "name": "Coaching companion",
      "primaryRole": "advises",
      "definition": "Interprets current gaming context and provides hints, analysis, strategy, explanation, or commentary.",
      "typicalContext": [
        "screen images",
        "player questions",
        "telemetry",
        "match history"
      ],
      "timeHorizon": "current moment"
    },
    {
      "id": "in-game",
      "name": "In-game companion",
      "primaryRole": "inhabits",
      "definition": "Exists inside a game world as an adaptive NPC, party member, teammate, or character.",
      "typicalContext": [
        "game state",
        "world state",
        "dialogue history",
        "character state"
      ],
      "timeHorizon": "inside the game"
    },
    {
      "id": "agentic",
      "name": "Agentic companion",
      "primaryRole": "acts",
      "definition": "Performs permitted game actions, follows commands, or controls a game entity.",
      "typicalContext": [
        "commands",
        "game state",
        "action space",
        "constraints"
      ],
      "timeHorizon": "during play"
    },
    {
      "id": "social",
      "name": "Social companion",
      "primaryRole": "relates",
      "definition": "Creates personality or social presence around gaming.",
      "typicalContext": [
        "conversation",
        "persona",
        "preferences",
        "shared gaming history"
      ],
      "timeHorizon": "ongoing presence"
    },
    {
      "id": "continuity",
      "name": "Continuity companion",
      "primaryRole": "preserves",
      "definition": "Preserves meaningful gaming context and restores the correct thread across sessions, chats, devices, characters, or runs.",
      "typicalContext": [
        "intentional saved state",
        "game and run identity",
        "goals",
        "decisions",
        "next step"
      ],
      "timeHorizon": "across time"
    }
  ]
}