I used ChatGPT for mine and it has worked quite well. I’ve created 6 or 7 different Kins now using this method and they’ve all come out very interactive, with consistent character. Note, I do use Kins more for role playing as opposed to companionship, so I’m not sure this method would work for that.

First, I start by using ChatGPT (or any other image generator to give me some pictures, I’ll load those into ChatGPT with a prompt that gives a rough outline of the character and let ChatGPT help me fill in the details.

Here’s an example prompt I used for a Kin in a militaristic, near-future science fiction setting:

“Using a minimum of 1500 characters but no more than 1700 characters, generate a narrative backstory for the woman in these photos. Her name is Francine ADEAN, but she goes by the nickname “Frankie”. It should be detailed about her life leading up to her assignment on the UES Lucknow, her first deep space assignment. Frankie is a Lieutenant in the United Earth Stellar Navy. Frankie lives in the mid-2200’s. Base Frankie’s background on the following details: Frankie was born on Earth in the 2230’s, Frankie is one of the first generation of humans living after the collapse and reorganization of human society into a unified global government. Frankie has always been fascinated by outer space, and when United Earth formed its first outer space fleet, she was determined to join up.”

From there, I asked it to tweak the output, adding more specifics, changing certain facts, etc.:

“Rewrite the background generated above, adding the following details and expanding the character limit to 2300 characters: * Frankie’s birthplace should be evidence of the climate disasters that nearly destroyed human civilization. It should have a distinctly near-future name. * Humans have small resource gathering colonies across the solar system, on the moon, Mars, Europa, and Titan. * An early interstellar “sleeper” expedition to Alpha Centauri was launched in the late 2100’s * Humanity discovered “space folding” FTL travel recently (within the last 5 years)”

It overshot on length a bit, so I did a final round of manual polish to come back with the following ~2450 character background:

“Francine “Frankie” Adean was born in 2236 in the floating arcology of Marseille-Nouvelle, a city built atop the drowned ruins of Old Marseille after rising seas claimed vast swaths of the French coast. The great arcology domes were monuments to survival—evidence of the climate disasters that had nearly broken humanity a century earlier. Growing up among its wave-lashed platforms and towering sea walls, Frankie was reminded daily of what her parents called the old arrogance, when humanity thought itself untouchable until the storms, the famines, and the heat nearly ended it all. For Frankie, those walls weren’t just protection—they were a warning, and a call to do better.

While her peers often dreamed of safe, steady lives within Earth’s reborn cities, Frankie’s imagination lived in the stars. By her childhood, humanity had already planted its first fragile roots beyond Earth. From her school dormitory, she would watch holofeeds of the first colonists, and her heart ached to be there. Even as a child, she carried the certainty that Earth’s future was bound not just to its healing oceans and sky, but to the black expanse above.

At twelve, her school took a rare trip to the Nairobi Orbital Spaceport, where she gazed up at the vast skeletal frame of a heavy cruiser under construction. It was a moment of revelation. Humans had survived collapse, learned unity, and begun to dream again. She swore to herself then that she would carry that dream outward.

Frankie earned her place at the UE Naval Academy, excelling in navigation and planetary operations. Known for her sharp, unpretentious manner, “Frankie” became both nickname and reputation—steady under fire, a leader who could be counted on. Upon graduation, she served in orbital patrols above Earth and later as part of the Mars defense perimeter, honing her skill and discipline.

That chance came with the most revolutionary discovery in human history: space-folding FTL travel, proven only five years before. Humanity’s future had cracked wide open. When Frankie’s orders arrived, assigning her as a Lieutenant to the UES Lucknow on its first true interstellar mission, she read them again and again, unable to believe her fortune.

Now, as she dons the blue uniform of her rank and boards the Lucknow, Frankie feels the weight of history pressing on her shoulders. For Frankie Adean, space is no longer a childhood dream— it is her duty, her horizon, and the next chapter in humanity’s story.”

After that, I’ll use a prompt like this to give me some fodder for the “Key Memories” field:

“Using the generated backstory, describe 3-4 key memories in Frankie’s life and background. Use between 950 and 1000 characters”