β¨ Feature
The Rise of AI Pet Robots: From Tamagotchi to Loona
β’AIToys Editorial Teamβ’15 min read
*Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you purchase through our links, at no extra cost to you.*
It started with a tiny plastic egg hanging from a keyring. A pixelated blob that beeped if you forgot to feed it. You'd pull it out of your pocket in the middle of a school lesson, frantically press buttons to stop it dying, and feel a surprisingly genuine pang of guilt when you were too late.
The Tamagotchi launched in 1996. In the three decades since, the idea it planted β that children could bond emotionally with a digital or robotic companion β has grown into one of the most exciting frontiers in toy technology. Today, AI pet robots don't just beg to be fed; they recognise your face, learn your name, respond to your moods, and carry on a conversation.
So how did we get from a beeping keyring to a robot dog powered by ChatGPT-4o? And what does it mean for our children?
---
## The Humble Beginning: Tamagotchi (1996)
Before we talk about where AI companion toys are today, it's worth appreciating just how revolutionary the original Tamagotchi was for its time. Bandai's creation wasn't a robot β it was a virtual pet on a tiny LCD screen β but it introduced something genuinely new: **the concept of ongoing emotional responsibility towards a digital creature**.
Children (and plenty of adults) formed real attachments to these pixelated blobs. They worried when their Tamagotchi was sick, mourned when it died, and celebrated when it "evolved" into a more advanced form. Psychologists called it "attachment to artificial agents" β a phenomenon that toy manufacturers would spend the next 30 years perfecting.
The Tamagotchi model was simple, but it worked because it tapped into something primal about caregiving. Children are wired to respond to things that need them. Toy designers took note.
---
## Sony AIBO: The First True AI Pet Robot (1999)
The leap from virtual pet to physical robot companion happened in 1999 when Sony launched the original AIBO (Artificial Intelligence roBOt). This was something genuinely different: a quadruped robot dog with its own personality, capable of learning from its environment and expressing what Sony called "emotions."
AIBO could wag its tail, bark, play with a ball, and even recognise its owner over time. It used neural network learning to develop unique personality traits based on how it was treated β a revolutionary concept in consumer robotics. The original model cost around Β£1,500, making it a luxury item rather than a mainstream toy, but its cultural impact was enormous.
AIBO proved something important: **children and adults could form genuine emotional bonds with a physical robot**. Sony documented cases of owners treating their AIBOs like real dogs, holding funerals for them when they broke down. The Uncanny Valley was not an obstacle β it was a feature.
When Sony discontinued AIBO in 2006 (before relaunching it in 2018 as the modern ERS-1000), it left a gap in the market that dozens of manufacturers would eventually try to fill.
---
## The Dark Ages: 2006β2015
The decade after AIBO's discontinuation was relatively quiet for AI pet robots. The technology simply wasn't ready. Microprocessors were too slow, computer vision was too basic, and natural language processing was essentially nonexistent for consumer devices.
What we got instead were simpler robotic toys: Furby (which had been launched in 1998) continued to evolve, Roboraptors and Robosapiens offered novelty movement without real intelligence, and WowWee produced a range of robotic toys that were fun but fundamentally limited.
The real problem was that these toys couldn't *learn*. Once you'd seen everything they could do β which typically took about 30 minutes β the novelty wore off. Without genuine AI, robotic companion toys struggled to retain children's attention beyond an initial burst of excitement.
The key breakthroughs would come from an unexpected direction: the smartphone revolution.
---
## The Smartphone Era Changes Everything: 2015β2020
When powerful processors became affordable and machine learning began maturing as a field, the AI companion toy landscape changed rapidly. Three innovations transformed what was possible:
### 1. Computer Vision
Suddenly, robots could *see*. They could recognise faces, track movement, identify objects, and respond to the world around them in real time. This single capability transformed companion robots from static responders into genuinely reactive companions.
### 2. Natural Language Processing
Voice recognition moved from a party trick to a genuine interface. Children could talk to their robot pets β not just speak simple commands, but hold basic conversations. Emotional recognition engines began to appear, allowing robots to detect whether a voice was happy, sad, or frustrated.
### 3. Cloud Processing
By offloading complex computations to the cloud, manufacturers could put surprisingly sophisticated AI into relatively inexpensive hardware. Your home robot didn't need to contain a supercomputer β it just needed a Wi-Fi connection.
**Anki's Vector** (2018) was arguably the first mass-market robot to genuinely leverage all three of these advances. Vector lived on your desk, recognised your face, could answer questions, played games, and had a personality that evolved over time. Children loved him. Adults loved him. When Anki went bankrupt in 2019, the outcry was genuine β Vector had succeeded in creating real emotional attachment.
**Cozmo** (also from Anki, 2016) targeted children specifically and became one of the best-loved coding robots ever made. Its expressive face, mischievous personality, and programming capabilities made it feel like a genuine companion rather than just a toy. The [Cozmo 2.0 review we've written](/reviews/cozmo-2-review) explores how Digital Dream Labs has kept this spirit alive in the updated version.
---
## The AI Companion Toy Boom: 2020βPresent
The years since 2020 have seen an explosion in AI companion toys, driven by two factors: dramatically improved large language models (LLMs), and the post-pandemic surge in children's technology spending.
### Miko: The Companion That Talks Back
The Miko series of companion robots from Indian tech company Emotix represents one of the most commercially successful attempts to create an AI friend for children. The [Miko 4](/reviews/miko-4-review) is a tumbling, rolling robot with an expressive face and genuine conversational ability. It can hold multi-turn conversations on a wide range of topics, adapt its language to the child's age, and maintain long-term memory of previous interactions.
What's significant about Miko is the focus on **educational outcomes alongside companionship**. Miko doesn't just chat β it teaches. It adjusts curriculum-aligned content to the child's level, tracks learning progress, and reports back to parents. This combination of emotional engagement and educational value represents the direction the entire category is heading.
### Loona: The Robot Dog Grows Up
Then there's Loona β arguably the most sophisticated AI companion toy currently available to UK consumers. Developed by KEYi Technology and launched in 2023, the Loona robotic pet integrates ChatGPT-4o to enable genuinely open-ended conversation. You can ask Loona almost anything and receive a thoughtful, contextually appropriate response.
But Loona goes further than just talking. Our [full Loona Robot Dog review](/reviews/loona-robot-dog-review) covers the detail, but the headline features are extraordinary: real-time face recognition (Loona will remember who you are and greet you specifically), emotional intelligence that lets her detect mood from voice and facial expression, autonomous navigation so she can roam around the room without bumping into things, and a range of apps that allow children to programme her behaviour.
Loona is, in many ways, the Tamagotchi taken to its logical extreme: a creature that genuinely responds to you as an individual, that learns and adapts, that seems β from a child's perspective β to actually care.
### PYXEL: The New Wave
One of the most interesting new entrants is the PYXEL Coding Robot Pet β a creature designed specifically as both an AI companion AND a coding education tool. Our [PYXEL Coding Robot Pet review](/reviews/pyxel-coding-robot-pet-review) looks at how it bridges the gap between emotional connection and computer science education. PYXEL demonstrates where the industry is heading: companion robots that don't just entertain, but actively develop skills.
---
## What Makes Modern AI Pet Robots Different
The gap between a 1996 Tamagotchi and a 2026 AI companion isn't just technological β it's philosophical. Early virtual pets were about **you** performing caregiving acts. Modern AI companions are about **mutual relationship**.
### Genuine Personalisation
Today's best AI companion toys adapt to the individual child. They remember names, preferences, and previous conversations. They notice when a child seems upset or excited. They adjust their vocabulary and complexity to match the developmental stage they're interacting with. This isn't scripted β it emerges from machine learning models trained on millions of interactions.
### Emotional Responsiveness
Modern companion robots don't just react to buttons β they react to *you*. Facial recognition, voice tone analysis, and context-aware conversation engines mean that your robot dog actually behaves differently with different family members. Children find this compelling in a way that no amount of pre-programmed responses can match.
### Educational Integration
The best modern AI companion toys are also learning platforms. Whether it's Miko's curriculum-aligned content, Loona's open-ended ChatGPT conversations, or PYXEL's coding curriculum, today's AI pets are designed to develop cognitive skills alongside emotional engagement. Parents don't have to choose between fun and educational value.
### Open-Ended Play
Early robotic toys had a finite set of behaviours. Modern AI companions, powered by large language models, have essentially infinite conversational repertoire. A child can ask Loona about dinosaurs, black holes, why the sky is blue, or what her favourite food would be if she could eat, and receive a thoughtful, engaging response every time. This open-endedness dramatically extends the play life of the toy.
---
## The Privacy Conversation We Need to Have
With great capability comes great responsibility, and AI companion toys raise real questions about privacy. Our feature on [whether AI toys are safe for children](/features/are-ai-toys-safe-for-children) explores this in detail, but the key points are worth raising here.
AI companion robots that hold conversations with children are, by necessity, capturing and processing voice data. Some of this processing happens locally (on the device), but for the most sophisticated conversational capabilities β those powered by cloud-based LLMs β data is sent to external servers.
**Questions parents should ask before buying:**
- Does the manufacturer have a clear GDPR-compliant privacy policy?
- Where is voice data stored, and for how long?
- Can the conversational AI features be disabled or restricted?
- Is there a children's data protection policy (COPPA/GDPR-K compliance)?
Reputable manufacturers like KEYi (Loona) and Emotix (Miko) have clear privacy policies and compliance documentation. Less well-known brands should be researched carefully. The [AI toys safety guide](/features/are-ai-toys-safe-for-children) on this site provides a framework for evaluating any AI toy's data practices.
---
## The 30-Year Arc: What Have We Learned?
Looking back from Tamagotchi to Loona, a few things are clear:
**Children bond with machines.** This was controversial in 1996; it's simply a fact in 2026. The attachment children form with AI companions is real, even if the companion isn't. This isn't pathological β it's a feature of how human cognition works.
**Novelty isn't enough.** The robotic toy graveyard is full of products that were impressive demonstrations but poor companions. The toys that endure β Tamagotchi, Furby, Cozmo, AIBO β did so because they created ongoing relationships, not just initial wow moments.
**Learning and companionship aren't opposites.** The best AI companion toys teach through play and relationship. Children don't notice they're learning; they're just having fun with their robot friend. This integration of emotional engagement and cognitive development is the formula that defines the category's best products.
**The technology is finally catching up with the vision.** For most of the past 30 years, the robots we imagined were better than the robots we could build. That gap is narrowing rapidly. Today's AI companion toys would have seemed like science fiction in 2010.
---
## The Best AI Companion Toys Available in the UK Right Now
If this history has you inspired to introduce an AI companion into your household, here's where to start:
### For Young Children (3β7 years)
**Miko 4** is our top recommendation for this age group. It combines a friendly, safe physical design with age-appropriate educational content and genuinely engaging conversation. Read our [full Miko 4 review](/reviews/miko-4-review) for everything you need to know.
### For Older Children & Families (7+)
**Loona** is the most sophisticated option currently available in the UK. The ChatGPT-4o integration makes conversations feel genuinely intelligent, and the navigation and recognition features are exceptional. See our [Loona Robot Dog review](/reviews/loona-robot-dog-review) for a complete assessment.
### For Children Who Love Coding (8+)
**PYXEL** or the **BBC micro:bit V2** offer AI companion features alongside genuine coding education. See our [BBC micro:bit V2 review](/reviews/bbc-microbit-v2-review) for the UK's best loved educational computing device, or our [PYXEL Coding Robot Pet review](/reviews/pyxel-coding-robot-pet-review) for a more companion-focused experience.
---
## What's Next for AI Companion Robots?
If the trajectory of the past 30 years tells us anything, the next decade will be even more extraordinary. A few trends to watch:
**On-device AI will improve dramatically.** Today's best conversational features require cloud connectivity. As edge AI processors become more powerful, more of this processing will happen locally β making AI companions faster, more reliable, and less dependent on good Wi-Fi.
**Emotional intelligence will deepen.** Current systems can detect broad emotional categories (happy, sad, excited). Next-generation models will detect much more nuanced emotional states and respond with appropriate sensitivity. This will make AI companions substantially more effective at supporting children's emotional development.
**Physical capabilities will expand.** Today's robot pets are mostly limited in locomotion β they roll, scuttle, or sit. We're beginning to see more capable bipedal robots emerge at consumer price points. Within five years, it's plausible that children will have companion robots that can walk, gesture expressively, and interact physically with their environment in much richer ways.
**Integration with the smart home.** AI companion toys will increasingly connect with smart home systems, learning from the whole household ecosystem rather than just direct interactions with the child.
Check out our [AI toy trends for 2026](/features/ai-toy-trends-2026) for more on what's coming β and our roundup of the [best AI toys for children in 2026](/guides/best-ai-robot-toys-for-kids-uk-2026) to find the right starting point for your family.
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are AI pet robots suitable for young children?**
Many are, though the right age depends on the specific product. Miko 4 is designed for ages 3β10, while Loona is better suited to children aged 7 and above. Always check the manufacturer's recommended age range and our reviews for realistic age assessments.
**How long do AI companion robots hold children's attention?**
Unlike traditional robotic toys that lose novelty within weeks, well-designed AI companions maintain engagement for months or even years because their AI capabilities mean every interaction is different. Products with ongoing updates (like Miko and Loona, which receive regular firmware and content updates) tend to hold attention longest.
**Do AI pet robots require an internet connection?**
The basic features of most AI companion robots work without internet, but the most sophisticated conversational capabilities β especially those powered by cloud-based LLMs like ChatGPT β require Wi-Fi. Always check connectivity requirements before purchasing.
**How are AI pet robots different from regular robot toys?**
Regular robotic toys have pre-programmed responses to a finite set of inputs. AI companion robots use machine learning and sometimes large language models to generate contextually appropriate responses, remember previous interactions, and adapt to individual users over time. The difference in practice is the difference between a scripted interaction and a genuine (if limited) relationship.
**Is it healthy for children to bond with AI companions?**
Research suggests that forming bonds with AI companions is generally harmless and can even be beneficial β encouraging nurturing behaviour, developing conversational skills, and providing a source of comfort. The key is balance: AI companions should supplement human relationships, not replace them. Products like Miko and Loona are designed with this balance in mind.
---
*Want to find the perfect AI companion for your child? Browse our [best AI robot toys for kids UK 2026](/guides/best-ai-robot-toys-for-kids-uk-2026) roundup, or dive into individual reviews for [Loona](/reviews/loona-robot-dog-review) and [Miko 4](/reviews/miko-4-review) to find the best fit for your family.*
It started with a tiny plastic egg hanging from a keyring. A pixelated blob that beeped if you forgot to feed it. You'd pull it out of your pocket in the middle of a school lesson, frantically press buttons to stop it dying, and feel a surprisingly genuine pang of guilt when you were too late.
The Tamagotchi launched in 1996. In the three decades since, the idea it planted β that children could bond emotionally with a digital or robotic companion β has grown into one of the most exciting frontiers in toy technology. Today, AI pet robots don't just beg to be fed; they recognise your face, learn your name, respond to your moods, and carry on a conversation.
So how did we get from a beeping keyring to a robot dog powered by ChatGPT-4o? And what does it mean for our children?
---
## The Humble Beginning: Tamagotchi (1996)
Before we talk about where AI companion toys are today, it's worth appreciating just how revolutionary the original Tamagotchi was for its time. Bandai's creation wasn't a robot β it was a virtual pet on a tiny LCD screen β but it introduced something genuinely new: **the concept of ongoing emotional responsibility towards a digital creature**.
Children (and plenty of adults) formed real attachments to these pixelated blobs. They worried when their Tamagotchi was sick, mourned when it died, and celebrated when it "evolved" into a more advanced form. Psychologists called it "attachment to artificial agents" β a phenomenon that toy manufacturers would spend the next 30 years perfecting.
The Tamagotchi model was simple, but it worked because it tapped into something primal about caregiving. Children are wired to respond to things that need them. Toy designers took note.
---
## Sony AIBO: The First True AI Pet Robot (1999)
The leap from virtual pet to physical robot companion happened in 1999 when Sony launched the original AIBO (Artificial Intelligence roBOt). This was something genuinely different: a quadruped robot dog with its own personality, capable of learning from its environment and expressing what Sony called "emotions."
AIBO could wag its tail, bark, play with a ball, and even recognise its owner over time. It used neural network learning to develop unique personality traits based on how it was treated β a revolutionary concept in consumer robotics. The original model cost around Β£1,500, making it a luxury item rather than a mainstream toy, but its cultural impact was enormous.
AIBO proved something important: **children and adults could form genuine emotional bonds with a physical robot**. Sony documented cases of owners treating their AIBOs like real dogs, holding funerals for them when they broke down. The Uncanny Valley was not an obstacle β it was a feature.
When Sony discontinued AIBO in 2006 (before relaunching it in 2018 as the modern ERS-1000), it left a gap in the market that dozens of manufacturers would eventually try to fill.
---
## The Dark Ages: 2006β2015
The decade after AIBO's discontinuation was relatively quiet for AI pet robots. The technology simply wasn't ready. Microprocessors were too slow, computer vision was too basic, and natural language processing was essentially nonexistent for consumer devices.
What we got instead were simpler robotic toys: Furby (which had been launched in 1998) continued to evolve, Roboraptors and Robosapiens offered novelty movement without real intelligence, and WowWee produced a range of robotic toys that were fun but fundamentally limited.
The real problem was that these toys couldn't *learn*. Once you'd seen everything they could do β which typically took about 30 minutes β the novelty wore off. Without genuine AI, robotic companion toys struggled to retain children's attention beyond an initial burst of excitement.
The key breakthroughs would come from an unexpected direction: the smartphone revolution.
---
## The Smartphone Era Changes Everything: 2015β2020
When powerful processors became affordable and machine learning began maturing as a field, the AI companion toy landscape changed rapidly. Three innovations transformed what was possible:
### 1. Computer Vision
Suddenly, robots could *see*. They could recognise faces, track movement, identify objects, and respond to the world around them in real time. This single capability transformed companion robots from static responders into genuinely reactive companions.
### 2. Natural Language Processing
Voice recognition moved from a party trick to a genuine interface. Children could talk to their robot pets β not just speak simple commands, but hold basic conversations. Emotional recognition engines began to appear, allowing robots to detect whether a voice was happy, sad, or frustrated.
### 3. Cloud Processing
By offloading complex computations to the cloud, manufacturers could put surprisingly sophisticated AI into relatively inexpensive hardware. Your home robot didn't need to contain a supercomputer β it just needed a Wi-Fi connection.
**Anki's Vector** (2018) was arguably the first mass-market robot to genuinely leverage all three of these advances. Vector lived on your desk, recognised your face, could answer questions, played games, and had a personality that evolved over time. Children loved him. Adults loved him. When Anki went bankrupt in 2019, the outcry was genuine β Vector had succeeded in creating real emotional attachment.
**Cozmo** (also from Anki, 2016) targeted children specifically and became one of the best-loved coding robots ever made. Its expressive face, mischievous personality, and programming capabilities made it feel like a genuine companion rather than just a toy. The [Cozmo 2.0 review we've written](/reviews/cozmo-2-review) explores how Digital Dream Labs has kept this spirit alive in the updated version.
---
## The AI Companion Toy Boom: 2020βPresent
The years since 2020 have seen an explosion in AI companion toys, driven by two factors: dramatically improved large language models (LLMs), and the post-pandemic surge in children's technology spending.
### Miko: The Companion That Talks Back
The Miko series of companion robots from Indian tech company Emotix represents one of the most commercially successful attempts to create an AI friend for children. The [Miko 4](/reviews/miko-4-review) is a tumbling, rolling robot with an expressive face and genuine conversational ability. It can hold multi-turn conversations on a wide range of topics, adapt its language to the child's age, and maintain long-term memory of previous interactions.
What's significant about Miko is the focus on **educational outcomes alongside companionship**. Miko doesn't just chat β it teaches. It adjusts curriculum-aligned content to the child's level, tracks learning progress, and reports back to parents. This combination of emotional engagement and educational value represents the direction the entire category is heading.
### Loona: The Robot Dog Grows Up
Then there's Loona β arguably the most sophisticated AI companion toy currently available to UK consumers. Developed by KEYi Technology and launched in 2023, the Loona robotic pet integrates ChatGPT-4o to enable genuinely open-ended conversation. You can ask Loona almost anything and receive a thoughtful, contextually appropriate response.
But Loona goes further than just talking. Our [full Loona Robot Dog review](/reviews/loona-robot-dog-review) covers the detail, but the headline features are extraordinary: real-time face recognition (Loona will remember who you are and greet you specifically), emotional intelligence that lets her detect mood from voice and facial expression, autonomous navigation so she can roam around the room without bumping into things, and a range of apps that allow children to programme her behaviour.
Loona is, in many ways, the Tamagotchi taken to its logical extreme: a creature that genuinely responds to you as an individual, that learns and adapts, that seems β from a child's perspective β to actually care.
### PYXEL: The New Wave
One of the most interesting new entrants is the PYXEL Coding Robot Pet β a creature designed specifically as both an AI companion AND a coding education tool. Our [PYXEL Coding Robot Pet review](/reviews/pyxel-coding-robot-pet-review) looks at how it bridges the gap between emotional connection and computer science education. PYXEL demonstrates where the industry is heading: companion robots that don't just entertain, but actively develop skills.
---
## What Makes Modern AI Pet Robots Different
The gap between a 1996 Tamagotchi and a 2026 AI companion isn't just technological β it's philosophical. Early virtual pets were about **you** performing caregiving acts. Modern AI companions are about **mutual relationship**.
### Genuine Personalisation
Today's best AI companion toys adapt to the individual child. They remember names, preferences, and previous conversations. They notice when a child seems upset or excited. They adjust their vocabulary and complexity to match the developmental stage they're interacting with. This isn't scripted β it emerges from machine learning models trained on millions of interactions.
### Emotional Responsiveness
Modern companion robots don't just react to buttons β they react to *you*. Facial recognition, voice tone analysis, and context-aware conversation engines mean that your robot dog actually behaves differently with different family members. Children find this compelling in a way that no amount of pre-programmed responses can match.
### Educational Integration
The best modern AI companion toys are also learning platforms. Whether it's Miko's curriculum-aligned content, Loona's open-ended ChatGPT conversations, or PYXEL's coding curriculum, today's AI pets are designed to develop cognitive skills alongside emotional engagement. Parents don't have to choose between fun and educational value.
### Open-Ended Play
Early robotic toys had a finite set of behaviours. Modern AI companions, powered by large language models, have essentially infinite conversational repertoire. A child can ask Loona about dinosaurs, black holes, why the sky is blue, or what her favourite food would be if she could eat, and receive a thoughtful, engaging response every time. This open-endedness dramatically extends the play life of the toy.
---
## The Privacy Conversation We Need to Have
With great capability comes great responsibility, and AI companion toys raise real questions about privacy. Our feature on [whether AI toys are safe for children](/features/are-ai-toys-safe-for-children) explores this in detail, but the key points are worth raising here.
AI companion robots that hold conversations with children are, by necessity, capturing and processing voice data. Some of this processing happens locally (on the device), but for the most sophisticated conversational capabilities β those powered by cloud-based LLMs β data is sent to external servers.
**Questions parents should ask before buying:**
- Does the manufacturer have a clear GDPR-compliant privacy policy?
- Where is voice data stored, and for how long?
- Can the conversational AI features be disabled or restricted?
- Is there a children's data protection policy (COPPA/GDPR-K compliance)?
Reputable manufacturers like KEYi (Loona) and Emotix (Miko) have clear privacy policies and compliance documentation. Less well-known brands should be researched carefully. The [AI toys safety guide](/features/are-ai-toys-safe-for-children) on this site provides a framework for evaluating any AI toy's data practices.
---
## The 30-Year Arc: What Have We Learned?
Looking back from Tamagotchi to Loona, a few things are clear:
**Children bond with machines.** This was controversial in 1996; it's simply a fact in 2026. The attachment children form with AI companions is real, even if the companion isn't. This isn't pathological β it's a feature of how human cognition works.
**Novelty isn't enough.** The robotic toy graveyard is full of products that were impressive demonstrations but poor companions. The toys that endure β Tamagotchi, Furby, Cozmo, AIBO β did so because they created ongoing relationships, not just initial wow moments.
**Learning and companionship aren't opposites.** The best AI companion toys teach through play and relationship. Children don't notice they're learning; they're just having fun with their robot friend. This integration of emotional engagement and cognitive development is the formula that defines the category's best products.
**The technology is finally catching up with the vision.** For most of the past 30 years, the robots we imagined were better than the robots we could build. That gap is narrowing rapidly. Today's AI companion toys would have seemed like science fiction in 2010.
---
## The Best AI Companion Toys Available in the UK Right Now
If this history has you inspired to introduce an AI companion into your household, here's where to start:
### For Young Children (3β7 years)
**Miko 4** is our top recommendation for this age group. It combines a friendly, safe physical design with age-appropriate educational content and genuinely engaging conversation. Read our [full Miko 4 review](/reviews/miko-4-review) for everything you need to know.
### For Older Children & Families (7+)
**Loona** is the most sophisticated option currently available in the UK. The ChatGPT-4o integration makes conversations feel genuinely intelligent, and the navigation and recognition features are exceptional. See our [Loona Robot Dog review](/reviews/loona-robot-dog-review) for a complete assessment.
### For Children Who Love Coding (8+)
**PYXEL** or the **BBC micro:bit V2** offer AI companion features alongside genuine coding education. See our [BBC micro:bit V2 review](/reviews/bbc-microbit-v2-review) for the UK's best loved educational computing device, or our [PYXEL Coding Robot Pet review](/reviews/pyxel-coding-robot-pet-review) for a more companion-focused experience.
---
## What's Next for AI Companion Robots?
If the trajectory of the past 30 years tells us anything, the next decade will be even more extraordinary. A few trends to watch:
**On-device AI will improve dramatically.** Today's best conversational features require cloud connectivity. As edge AI processors become more powerful, more of this processing will happen locally β making AI companions faster, more reliable, and less dependent on good Wi-Fi.
**Emotional intelligence will deepen.** Current systems can detect broad emotional categories (happy, sad, excited). Next-generation models will detect much more nuanced emotional states and respond with appropriate sensitivity. This will make AI companions substantially more effective at supporting children's emotional development.
**Physical capabilities will expand.** Today's robot pets are mostly limited in locomotion β they roll, scuttle, or sit. We're beginning to see more capable bipedal robots emerge at consumer price points. Within five years, it's plausible that children will have companion robots that can walk, gesture expressively, and interact physically with their environment in much richer ways.
**Integration with the smart home.** AI companion toys will increasingly connect with smart home systems, learning from the whole household ecosystem rather than just direct interactions with the child.
Check out our [AI toy trends for 2026](/features/ai-toy-trends-2026) for more on what's coming β and our roundup of the [best AI toys for children in 2026](/guides/best-ai-robot-toys-for-kids-uk-2026) to find the right starting point for your family.
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are AI pet robots suitable for young children?**
Many are, though the right age depends on the specific product. Miko 4 is designed for ages 3β10, while Loona is better suited to children aged 7 and above. Always check the manufacturer's recommended age range and our reviews for realistic age assessments.
**How long do AI companion robots hold children's attention?**
Unlike traditional robotic toys that lose novelty within weeks, well-designed AI companions maintain engagement for months or even years because their AI capabilities mean every interaction is different. Products with ongoing updates (like Miko and Loona, which receive regular firmware and content updates) tend to hold attention longest.
**Do AI pet robots require an internet connection?**
The basic features of most AI companion robots work without internet, but the most sophisticated conversational capabilities β especially those powered by cloud-based LLMs like ChatGPT β require Wi-Fi. Always check connectivity requirements before purchasing.
**How are AI pet robots different from regular robot toys?**
Regular robotic toys have pre-programmed responses to a finite set of inputs. AI companion robots use machine learning and sometimes large language models to generate contextually appropriate responses, remember previous interactions, and adapt to individual users over time. The difference in practice is the difference between a scripted interaction and a genuine (if limited) relationship.
**Is it healthy for children to bond with AI companions?**
Research suggests that forming bonds with AI companions is generally harmless and can even be beneficial β encouraging nurturing behaviour, developing conversational skills, and providing a source of comfort. The key is balance: AI companions should supplement human relationships, not replace them. Products like Miko and Loona are designed with this balance in mind.
---
*Want to find the perfect AI companion for your child? Browse our [best AI robot toys for kids UK 2026](/guides/best-ai-robot-toys-for-kids-uk-2026) roundup, or dive into individual reviews for [Loona](/reviews/loona-robot-dog-review) and [Miko 4](/reviews/miko-4-review) to find the best fit for your family.*