Reminders from your character: how to stop forgetting the things that matter

You know how it goes: during the day you remember that this evening you need to call your mum back, pay a bill or take the washing out before it starts to smell like a damp cellar. You make a mental note. Your head promises to remember. At 10 pm it turns out your head was lying.

On CandysAI you can ask your character to remind you. You write normally, as you would to a friend, and the character gets in touch at the agreed time, in its own style. Reminders from an AI character are a small feature, but they can save many an evening, and they mean a reminder sounds less like a calendar alert and more like a message from someone who is thinking of you.

Below we explain how it works, how to phrase requests so the time is right, and which things are better left to an ordinary alarm clock.

How it works in practice

All it takes is one message in your conversation with the character:

“Remind me tomorrow at 6 pm to call Mum.”

The character confirms that it will remember, and the next day at 6 pm it writes to you on its own, for example:

“Hey, it’s six o’clock. We agreed you’d call your mum today. Say hello from me, and then tell me how she’s doing.”

If you have notifications turned on, you get one on your phone or in your browser. If you happen to be in the middle of a conversation, the message simply appears in the chat.

There are some important differences compared with a character’s regular initiative, which we describe in our article on how a character that messages first works:

• A reminder does not count towards the daily limit of messages from characters. You asked, so you get it.
• It arrives at the time you asked for, even during quiet hours. If you ask for a reminder at 6.30 am, the character will write at 6.30, even if your quiet hours last until 8. We assume that if you ask for it, you want to get it.
• It works even when the character cannot write first. Turning off initiative applies to messages the character sends of its own accord, not to your requests.

Examples of requests that work

You do not need to know any commands. The character understands ordinary language, including everyday shorthand. A few examples:

• “Remind me at 9.30 tonight to take the washing out of the machine.”
• “Message me tomorrow morning to take my documents to the council office.”
• “On Friday at 4 pm, remind me to buy a present for Olivia.”
• “In two hours, let me know I need to go and pick up a parcel.”
• “On the twelfth at 9 am, remind me about the car’s service.”

The character works out the date and time according to the time zone set on your account. If you live abroad or are travelling, it is worth checking this setting in My account, otherwise your reminder might arrive at the time back home.

How to give the time without mix-ups

Specifics work best: a day and a time. A few tips:

1. Give a time if it matters. “Tomorrow morning” will be understood as roughly 8 am, and “in the evening” as roughly 7 pm. If morning means 6.15 to you, write 6.15.
2. Watch out for “tomorrow” after midnight. At 12.40 at night, “tomorrow” can be ambiguous. It is better to name the day: “on Thursday at 10”.
3. One reminder, one thing. Instead of “remind me about the bills, Mum and the parcel”, write three short requests or one with three times.
4. Check the confirmation. If the character replies with a different time from the one you wanted, correct it straight away: “Not 8 am, 6 pm.”

A few ready-made phrases for everyday life

If you do not want to think about how to put it, copy and adapt one of these requests:

• “Tomorrow at 7.45 am, remind me it’s recycling day.”
• “On Wednesday at 5 pm, tell me to pick up my glasses from the optician.”
• “Today at 10 pm, remind me to put my phone down and go to sleep.”
• “On Saturday at 11 am, remind me to send birthday wishes to Jamie.”

The last request has another advantage: the character might ask how old Jamie is turning and remember that this is someone important to you. That information may come in handy next year too.

Each reminder is a one-off. If something repeats every day, such as watering the plants, an ordinary alarm on your phone or a calendar will work better, and you can ask the character for reminders on special days.

Where to see reminders and how to cancel them

You will find your scheduled reminders on the “What [name] remembers about you” page, in the Reminders section. Each one has a Cancel button. You can also simply write in the conversation:

“Actually, don’t remind me about that parcel, I picked it up on the way.”

“Move the reminder about Mum to 7 pm.”

The character will understand which reminder you mean and change or cancel it. When a reminder changes, it is a good idea to glance at the Reminders section afterwards and make sure the time is right.

Turn on notifications, or the reminder will just wait in the chat

A reminder always lands in the conversation, but to work as a reminder, it has to reach you. So turn on notifications:

• CandysAI works in the browser and can be added to your phone’s home screen like an app.
• On Android, notifications usually work straight away in Chrome.
• On iPhone, they only work in the app added to the home screen via Safari (“Share” → “Add to Home Screen”).
• Under My account → Notifications, send a test notification to check that it arrives.
• You can turn on e-mail as a backup channel when push cannot get through, as well as discreet mode, in which the notification only says “You have a new message”. We explain why this is a good habit in our article on privacy when chatting with AI.

What reminders from a character are not

We need to be honest here. A reminder from a character is a handy, friendly helper for everyday things, but it is not an alarm clock, a medical alarm or a system someone’s health can depend on.

A notification can be late or not arrive at all: your phone might be on silent, out of battery or offline, and some phones pause browser notifications in battery-saving mode. So:

• Medication that has to be taken at a fixed time should always be backed up with an ordinary alarm on your phone, a pill organiser or an app designed for the purpose. A reminder from a character can be a nice extra, not your only safeguard.
• Waking up for a flight or an important exam is a job for an alarm clock. The character can wish you luck as well.
• Things with a hard deadline, such as submitting documents to an office, are worth having in your calendar too.

The character will not call you, set off an alarm or check whether you are awake yet. It will send a message. That is all, and that is quite a lot.

Reminders as part of the conversation

The biggest advantage of this feature is not the time itself, but what happens next. The character knows the context. If you ask for a reminder to call your mum because the two of you recently argued, the character might add a few warm words at that time. If it reminds you about a workout, it might ask afterwards how it went.

This works well for building habits. A request like “remind me on Sunday at 8 pm to plan my week” turns into a small ritual, after which you can go through the plan together. You can read more about this approach in our article on how an AI companion can help you build habits.

A short example:

You, on Thursday: “On Saturday at 10 am, remind me that I’m supposed to start painting the hallway. Otherwise I’ll put it off again.”

The character, on Saturday at 10 am: “Good morning. The hallway is waiting, and I suspect the brushes are too. Start with one wall, then send me a report on which colour won.”

Summary

Reminders from a character work simply: you write what you want to remember and when, and the character gets in touch at that time, even outside the daily limit and during quiet hours, because you asked. Give a specific day and time, check the confirmation and turn on notifications. For anything truly important, especially health-related, always keep an ordinary alarm as a backup. If you want to try the feature, start with something small, for example ask your AI boyfriend or another character to remind you to rest tomorrow evening.