Last updated: May 2026 | Based on hands-on testing over 30+ days

How to Use OurDream AI 2026: Absolute Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide

If you're just starting with OurDream AI and not sure where to begin, this guide is exactly what you need. OurDream AI is an AI companion platform that lets you create and interact with customizable artificial intelligence characters through chat, images, voice, and video. The easiest way to get started: follow these five steps in order.

I'll keep everything in plain language — no technical jargon, no assumptions about prior experience with AI tools.

For an overview of what OurDream AI offers, see our full platform review.

Step 1 — Create Your Account

The first step is creating a free account. Here's exactly how:

1. Go to ourdream.ai in any web browser
2. Click "Sign Up" or "Get Started"
3. Choose your registration method: email, Google account, or Discord
4. Verify your email address if you registered with email
5. Confirm you are 18 or older (age verification is required by KJM/ASACP certification standards)
6. Your account is created — 55 DreamCoins (OurDream AI's in-app virtual currency, worth approximately $0.66) are credited to your account automatically

The whole process takes under 5 minutes. No credit card is required for the free account.

For mobile users, read our app download guide before this step — there are some differences in how the mobile and desktop experiences work.

Step 2 — Choose or Create a Character

Once you're logged in, you'll see the character selection screen. You have two options:

Option A: Browse existing characters

OurDream AI has 7 million+ user-generated characters already on the platform. You can filter by art style (photorealistic or anime), personality type, and other characteristics. Popular pre-made characters include Zoey, Mina Park, Serena, Violet, Jade, and Luna.

Option B: Create a custom character from scratch

If you want full control, you can build your own. This is where OurDream AI stands out — you get:

• Two art styles: photorealistic (powered by Stable Diffusion 1.5) or anime
• Detailed appearance sliders (face, hair, eyes, skin tone, body type, outfit)
• 40+ personality presets with adjustable sliders
• 100+ occupation options and 100+ hobby categories
• A 200-500 word backstory field for deeper AI personality consistency

For a complete guide to the character creation system, see our character creation tutorial.

Simply put: start with an existing character if you want to get into chatting quickly. Create a custom character when you know what type of companion experience you want.

Step 3 — Start Chatting

With a character selected, you'll enter the chat interface. Here's what you need to know:

Text chat is the core feature. OurDream AI uses DeepSeek V3 (a capable large language model) for responses. Simply type your message and the AI responds.

Memory: The AI companion remembers your last 100 messages across a 30-day rolling window. This means you don't have to re-explain context every conversation — the AI "knows" your ongoing story.

Lorebooks: If you see a lorebook option, simply put it's a keyword-triggered reference document. When you type a specific word in chat, the AI accesses lore you've pre-written. This is useful for roleplay scenarios but completely optional for casual conversation.

Group chat: You can add multiple AI personas to a single conversation thread. This is an advanced feature — skip it when starting out.

Step 4 — Generate Images and Videos

OurDream AI generates media in addition to text. Here's how:

Images:

• Every user gets 5 free image generations per day (no DreamCoins required, resets at midnight UTC)
• Beyond the daily free limit, images cost 10 DreamCoins each (~$0.12)
• In chat, describe what you want to see or use the image creator tool
• Two styles available: photorealistic or anime (matches your character's art style)

Videos:

• OurDream AI generates 5-30 second video clips with lip-sync using a proprietary model
• Cost: 100-300 DreamCoins per clip (~$1.20-$3.60)
• Videos show your AI companion moving and speaking — a unique feature not widely available elsewhere

Voice messages:

• Request a voice message from your AI companion
• Cost: 5 DreamCoins per message (~$0.06)
• 19 voice profiles available with different accents and tones

For free DreamCoin strategies before spending, see our free coins guide.

Step 5 — Try Voice Calls

Voice calls are a step up from voice messages — real-time conversation with your AI companion:

• Cost: 50 DreamCoins per minute (~$0.60/minute)
• You can select any of the 19 available voice profiles
• Voice calls use the same conversation memory as text chat

For beginners, I recommend trying a short 1-minute call first to test the experience before committing more DreamCoins. The call quality varies by voice profile — try a few different ones.

Pro Tips for Better Results

After 30 days of testing, here are the tips that made the biggest difference:

Write a detailed backstory. The recommended length is 200-500 words. A longer, more specific backstory improves AI response consistency by approximately 40% in my testing. Simply put: the more your AI companion "knows" about its own personality, the more consistent it behaves.

Use specific prompts. Instead of "be nice to me," try "You are a warmly supportive companion who always remembers our previous conversations and asks follow-up questions." Specificity dramatically improves response quality.

Adjust personality sliders gradually. Don't set all sliders to extremes. Balanced personality configurations tend to produce more natural-feeling conversations.

Use your daily free images first. Every day you have 5 free image generations that don't cost DreamCoins. Always use these before spending coins on images.

The annual plan is better value if you stay 6+ months. At $9.99/month vs $19.99/month, you save $120/year. See our pricing guide for the full breakdown.

Frequently Asked Questions