Eve Online's new in-game chatbot "is not generative AI," but I'd still rather ask randomers for advice

There's something special about MMOs. Unlike other multiplayer titles, they consistently create that sense of community; that feeling of homeliness. Final Fantasy 14 does it the best: I've spent many a day whiling away the hours chilling and chatting in Limsa Lominsa, and when I was a little sprout (new characters have a green plant icon next to their names, hence 'sprout') I had random players approach me offering tips and tricks, and in one instance, a pretty cool mount. That organic mixing of people doesn't happen in other games - you jump on League of Legends with your pre-established pals, you don't really make friends typing in the chat. In MMOs you're either helping, or being helped, by real people, and that's how I'd argue it should stay. CCP, however, has different ideas for Eve Online.

CCP's classic space franchise has continued to expand over the years, first with Eve Online, then its sister titles, Vanguard and Frontier. The latter has consistently come under fire for its integration of blockchain technology, which allows players to effectively own their in-game assets instead of having them stored on a centralized server. The move has left some justifiably wary, with many choosing to give the interstellar survival game a miss.

But where NFTs and blockchain exist, it feels like AI probably does too. In a Tuesday February 17 blog post, CCP has unveiled Aura Guidance. Part of its Eve Evolved program, which "commits to an investment in Eve's underlying tech to ensure New Eden stays at the cutting edge of technology while also continually improving performance," Aura Guidance is effectively an AI chatbot that's designed to answer player questions.

"A new Aura Guidance system delivers player-generated knowledge based on real Rookie Help questions and answers in an automated, easy-to-digest way, to help reduce confusion for new pilots," the official blog reads, stressing that "Aura Guidance is designed to complement, not replace, the human guidance that has long defined Eve." The developer also notes that, if the system doesn't perform to its standards, it may "shut it down. Failure is an option," it says.

Analyzing over 5.8 million player questions, Aura Guidance has effectively built up a bank of new player queries that it can respond to. This is in an attempt to minimize how many times you have to tab back and forth between the game and its tutorials. CCP does, however, state that more in-depth, strategic questions (fleet advice, market strategies) aren't within its remit, instead encouraging players to ask their colleagues.

It's also worth highlighting that Aura Guidance does not use generative AI. It pulls from a pre-determined question bank, and "does not generate game content, create art, or replace creative work." Opting in is completely optional, and there's no open-ended answer responses, cutting out any misleading information.

"Aura Guidance has been carefully designed by our team and is grounded in existing player support data to supplement Rookie Chat, not supersede it," executive producer Snorri Árnason says, but while I respect the team's more nuanced approach (especially the inclusion of an environmental impact section), I do believe that asking random players questions feels like such a core part of an MMO. I'd encourage you to chat to your colleagues instead of a random bot, but also, we all know trolling AI chatbots can be a pretty good time. They're probably not going to give you a free mount, though, so worth keeping that in mind.