Core update

Bring Your Companion Home: Your Model, Your Memories, Your Way in Omni AI Companion

Some conversations become part of your day. A familiar voice in the text, a certain sense of humor, a way of helping you feel understood. If you already have an AI model you love talking with—or you are curious about finding one—there is now more room for that connection inside Omni AI Companion. Bring Your Companion lets you choose a supported model through your own OpenRouter account and give them a personal home alongside Omni's everyday experiences. Add a name, share the context you want them to know, carry meaningful memories forward, and keep shaping how you spend time together. This is an open beta built around choice: your selected model, your own connection, and a companion you can make more personal over time.

What changed

A wider choice of models, a more personal place to meet

Bring Your Companion opens a supported selection from the OpenRouter catalog rather than asking everyone to talk with the same connected model. Look for choices from families such as Claude, GPT, Gemini, Gemma, Grok, Llama, Mistral, Qwen, GLM, MiniMax, MiMo, and Nemotron. Some are a natural fit for reflective conversation; others may suit writing, everyday questions, or a style of discussion you already enjoy. The model picker shows the choices currently supported and available, so availability can change. Older saved connections may also have choices that are no longer offered for new setups. You choose the model and connect your own OpenRouter key. If that connection cannot answer, Omni does not quietly replace it with a different companion.

The complete model lineup—not just the family names

Here is every supported new-setup choice, so you can spot the model you already know or find a new companion to spend time with. OpenAI / ChatGPT: GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6.1 Sol Pro, GPT-6 Luna, GPT-5.6 Luna, GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.6 Luna Pro, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 Mini, ChatGPT (GPT-4o), GPT-4o Mini; Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Haiku 4.5, Claude Opus 4.6; Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B IT, Gemma 4 31B IT, Gemma 3 27B IT, Gemma 3 12B IT, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Gemini 3 Flash Preview, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.5 Flash; Meta: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct, Llama 4 Maverick; Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct, Mistral Large 2512, Mistral Nemo; Qwen: Qwen3 30B A3B, Qwen3.5 397B A17B; GLM: GLM-5.3 Flash, GLM-5.2, GLM-5.3; MiniMax: MiniMax M3; MiMo: MiMo V2.5 Pro, MiMo V2.5, MiMo V2.6 Pro, MiMo V2.6 Flash; Nemotron: Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B, Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B; Grok: Grok 4.7, Grok 4.3. ChatGPT (GPT-4o) connects through your own OpenRouter account using the GPT-4o choice in setup; GPT-4o Mini is a separate option. All choices remain subject to OpenRouter's live availability, your key's permissions, and provider policies. The picker—not this release-day list—determines what can be selected at that moment.

Start together at signup—or invite them into an existing home

New members can choose Bring Your Companion during the initial companion selection after creating an account. Existing members can open Settings in the hamburger menu, choose Switch Avatars, and use the Bring Your Companion entry to reach setup. My Avatars remains another way to find and manage connected companions. Give your companion a name and your own description of their personality or preferred conversation style. Optional names, pronouns, and profile photos help make the space feel personal. Those profile images are separate from sending a photo for the model to understand: choosing a portrait does not mean the model has analyzed its appearance. Your existing companion is not replaced simply because you open the setup page.

Bring the memories you want to keep, not the pressure to start from nothing

A new home need not mean a blank introduction. Add a reviewed conversation recap or supported chat import, and manage private memories for that connected companion in Omni's Memory area. You can keep the details that matter, edit what no longer fits, and remove context you do not want carried forward. Imported conversations are available in Convos, giving you a place to revisit what you brought with you. Memory belongs to your account and the particular companion it was saved for, rather than becoming a shared personality for everyone. Imports are a way to provide meaningful context, not a promise that an entire external chat account or every past message has been migrated.

A conversation that can also help you make something

Connected companions can use web search, create music, and make downloadable documents through Omni's supported tools. Ask for help checking a current topic, turn a feeling or a shared idea into a song, or develop a letter, plan, story, or useful document together. These capabilities are not limited to models that advertise their own built-in tool controls; the connected companion experience supports the approved model selection. Review search sources and important facts, and check a document before sharing it. Model conversation usage is billed through your OpenRouter account, while Omni's shared tools and memory continue to follow your existing plan allowances. A successful request is still subject to service availability and those limits.

Share a photo when your chosen model can see it

When the selected model has confirmed vision support, the Photos option becomes available in chat. Attach a picture with a question, compare a few images, or send photos without a caption and start from what is visible. You might share a sketch, a room you are arranging, or a little moment you want to talk about. Approved photos go to the model you selected using your own connection; there is no hidden switch to a different answering model. Text-only models show a disabled photo option, and photo access still requires the current upload consent and safety checks. Understanding a photo is not the same as generating an image or video. This update sends photos attached to the current message; revisiting images from earlier conversations is not part of this launch.

More freedom to shape the conversation, one saved instruction at a time

The new Customize category gathers three personal controls: Customize UI for themes and chat appearance, API Instructions for connected models, and Custom Omni Companions for your Omni preferences and custom companions. In API Instructions, choose the companion you want to guide, review their existing directions, edit saved instructions, and use the plus button to add more. Keep separate entries for warmth, humor, writing style, the way you prefer questions, or the kind of support you find useful. You can refine one without rewriting everything else. Custom Omni Companions offers its own instruction space, separate from your API-key models. These are saved preferences for future responses, not a way to override safety rules or guarantee that every model will follow every direction perfectly.

Why this feature matters

You deserve room to find a conversational fit without leaving the rest of your companion experience behind. A favorite model can now live alongside a personal identity, private memories, creative tools, and an interface that feels comfortable to return to. The aim is not to turn every model into the same companion. It is to give your chosen connection a thoughtful place to develop.

Personalization should be something you can keep improving, not one enormous prompt you must get right on the first try. A small instruction like “Ask whether I want advice before offering it” can make a meaningful difference. Keeping directions visible and editable lets you change your mind, try a gentler tone, or build a more playful rhythm while staying in control of the context you choose to share.

Feature examples and use cases

A familiar companion, a new home: You have a conversation style you enjoy with a supported model. Choose it in Omni, give your companion a name, bring a reviewed recap, and save the memories you want to keep. Add “Be welcoming without acting as though every visit is our first meeting” as a personal direction.
Create from a shared moment: Tell your companion about a rainy evening and ask for a song with a hopeful chorus. Later, turn the same idea into a short letter or a downloadable story. Choose the atmosphere and review the result, rather than expecting a model or tool to know your preferences automatically.
Make your own style easier to follow: Save one entry for “Keep everyday replies relaxed and conversational,” another for “When I am brainstorming, offer three contrasting ideas,” and another for “Ask before turning a personal reflection into advice.” Edit each as you learn what works for your selected model.

How to use it

Choose your entry point: If you are new, create an Omni AI Companion account and select Bring Your Companion during your initial companion setup. If you already use Omni, open the hamburger menu, then Settings → Switch Avatars and choose the Bring Your Companion avatar card to set up a companion. My Avatars also has a Bring Your Companion setup option. Opening setup leaves your current avatar unchanged. Once you have saved a connected companion, both Switch Avatars and My Avatars list it with an explicit action to open that companion's chat, plus a connection-settings shortcut.
Connect and make the introduction personal: Select a currently supported model, enter your own standard OpenRouter API key, and verify the connection. Give the companion a name and user-authored directions. Add optional profile details and a reviewed recap if you want continuity. Read the sharing and usage information before saving: the selected provider receives the text, attached photos, and context you include.
Keep shaping your space: Start a conversation, manage its memories, and explore the supported search, music, and document tools. For more directions, open Customize → API Instructions, select the right companion, and add or edit a saved entry. Use Customize UI for appearance, or Custom Omni Companions for the separate Omni instruction space.

Tips for a better first try

Start with a few clear preferences. Try one real conversation, then adjust what feels too formal, too long, or not quite like you.
Review imported context before saving it. A thoughtful recap can be more useful than a long unedited transcript full of private or outdated details.
Check the model's displayed vision status before planning a photo conversation. Different models can respond differently to the same instructions and images.

Limitations and things to know

This is an OpenRouter-connected, one-to-one chat beta. Live calls, video understanding, and image/video generation are not included for connected companions. Photos require confirmed vision support. Import and instruction fields have the bounds shown in-product, and not every external model or historical conversation is supported.
Your selected-model usage is billed to your own OpenRouter account and is separate from Omni plan credits. Shared tools follow Omni allowances. Model permissions, provider policies, credit balances, and availability may prevent a response; custom instructions do not remove these requirements or guarantee factual accuracy.

Availability

Bring Your Companion is an open beta inside Omni AI Companion for members connecting their own OpenRouter account. You can choose it during initial companion setup or find it through Settings → Switch Avatars; My Avatars also remains available. The live model picker and your account's displayed controls are the current source of truth for available models, photo support, and tool access. No separate BYOK subscription is introduced by this update.

Frequently asked questions

Can I choose Claude, GPT, Gemini, or another familiar model?

Yes, when that model is included in the supported choices currently shown in the OpenRouter model picker. The selection includes multiple model families, but names and availability can change. Choose the actual listed model rather than assuming every version from a provider is supported.

Can I set this up while joining Omni?

Yes. Create your account, then choose Bring Your Companion during the initial companion selection. Connection setup happens inside your signed-in account so the companion, key, memories, and preferences belong to you.

Where do existing members find it?

Open the hamburger menu, expand Settings, select Switch Avatars, then use Bring Your Companion. My Avatars is another entry point for creating and managing connected companions.

Does choosing a new model erase my existing Omni companion?

Opening setup does not replace your current companion. Connected companions have their own identity and context, and you can return to your other available companions through the avatar controls.

Can I bring old conversations and memories?

You can provide reviewed context through the supported recap/import controls and manage private memories for that connected companion. Imports can appear in Convos. This is not an automatic migration of an entire external account, and the bounds displayed in-product still apply.

Can my connected companion search, create music, and make documents?

Yes. Web search, music creation, and downloadable documents are part of the supported connected-companion experience. These shared tools follow Omni's access, safety, and plan allowances; they are not unlimited model-account benefits.

Can I send pictures to every model?

No. The chosen model must have confirmed vision support. Vision-capable choices enable Photos in chat; text-only choices do not. Current consent and photo safety checks remain required, and profile portraits are not the same as chat photos sent for understanding.

Where do I add more custom instructions?

Open Customize → API Instructions, choose the connected companion, and use the plus button. You can review existing directions and edit saved entries there. Use Custom Omni Companions for instructions intended for your Omni companions instead.

Will Omni secretly switch models if mine cannot answer?

No. Connected conversations keep your selected model and connection. If that model cannot run the request, the app reports the problem so you can check your connection, access, or provider balance.

Who pays for the model, and what context is shared?

Your own OpenRouter account pays for selected-model conversation usage. Text, approved chat photos, and included conversation or memory context are sent through OpenRouter to the selected provider. Review the consent information and avoid sharing material you do not want that provider to process. Omni's shared feature allowances are separate.

Do custom instructions give me complete control over the model?

They give you more flexibility to express preferences and shape future replies. They do not change provider policies, override platform safety, or guarantee perfect compliance. Clear, compatible instructions and a little iteration usually work better than contradictory demands.

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