How the AI works

Scam With Your Friends AI Callers Explained

The developer's explanation does not establish what conversation or voice data is retained by any service. Do not treat local speech processing as a complete privacy policy.

Quick answer

The developer says speech-to-text and generated caller voices run locally, while a cloud-hosted language model reached through OpenRouter powers the caller's responses. Steam lists a broadband connection and discloses the third-party AI service.

Last verified: October 16, 2026.

Three Different AI Jobs

Scam With Your Friends describes real-time conversations with fictional AI callers. In a Steam discussion, developer JakeHub separated the system into voice recognition, voice synthesis and the caller's dialogue model. These are not the same component.

  • Speech-to-text turns a player's spoken input into text locally, according to the developer.
  • Text-to-speech synthesizes the caller's voice locally, according to the same explanation.
  • The caller's conversational responses use a cloud-hosted language model through OpenRouter.

Why an Internet Connection Matters

Steam discloses that the game connects to OpenRouter for AI content generation and lists broadband internet in the minimum requirements. The developer's description of a cloud-hosted caller model explains why local microphone and voice output do not make the dialogue fully offline.

A fully local caller language-model option is not listed as a current game feature. A developer reply discussed it only as a possible future direction, not a commitment or release date.

Speaking, Typing and Qwen3 Voices

Hotfix 2 confirms that typed dialogue remains available when speech features are not usable. The launch announcement asks non-English players to finish the Qwen3 text-to-speech download on the main menu for higher-quality voices; later hotfixes improved download reliability and added a voice-readiness warning before joining a room.

Qwen3 voice files affect how a caller sounds. They should not be confused with the separate cloud language model that generates the caller's responses.

What Is Not Publicly Confirmed

The developer discussion does not answer how long recordings, transcripts or generated replies may be stored, nor does it provide a complete data-processing specification. This guide therefore does not claim that conversations are deleted immediately, used for training, or retained for a particular period.

The exact models and service configuration can change during Early Access. Check the current Steam disclosure and developer announcements before relying on older technical descriptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the AI callers fully offline?

No fully offline caller-dialogue mode is confirmed. The developer says the caller language model is cloud-hosted through OpenRouter, and Steam requires broadband internet.

Can I type instead of speaking?

Yes. Official Hotfix 2 notes say typed dialogue remains available.

Does local speech processing prove conversations are never stored?

No. The developer's explanation does not establish retention or deletion rules for voice or conversation data.