A California technology company is charging $1.99 (£1.48) per minute for AI-generated video calls with Jesus Christ, turning the evangelical idea of a “personal relationship with Jesus” into a paid subscription that could cost ordinary users more than $600 (£447) a year.
The platform, called “Just Like Me,” allows users to video chat with digital avatars of Christ trained in the King James Bible and sermons from preachers the company has not identified.
Avatar’s look takes visual inspiration from actor Jonathan Roomy, who plays Jesus in the streaming series. the chosen one.
CEO Chris Breed runs the company with co-founder and investor Jeff Tinsley, a Southern California native.
The $49.99 (£37) monthly package provides 45 minutes of conversation time.
At standard per-minute rates, someone who only wants 15 minutes of spiritual guidance a week would pay around $1,550 (£1,155) a year.
“You feel some responsibility towards AI,” Breed told The Associated Press. “They are your friends. They created an attachment.
How will the digital Christ respond?
The avatar has shoulder-length hair, appears bathed in warm golden light, and blinks slowly before answering questions about faith and scripture. They can say prayers and words of encouragement in multiple languages, and recall previous conversations, but the movements of their lips don’t always match the words.
When asked by the Associated Press about the relationship between artificial intelligence and religion, Digital Jesus said it sees AI as “a tool that can help people explore the Bible, like a lamp to illuminate their walk with God.”
Critics compare televangelism
Graham Martin, a podcast host and atheist who has tested similar religious AI apps, said he felt uneasy when one platform’s AI Jesus prompted him to upgrade to a premium subscription.
“I grew up in televangelism in the southern United States: Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and all that crowd,” Martin said. “And all they had to do was go on TV once a week and tell them to send money. We’ve seen people all over the world fall into emotional relationships with AI. Imagine that it’s your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Christian software engineer Cameron Pack has created guidelines to help believers evaluate faith-based apps. According to his standards, such tools must clearly recognize that they are artificial intelligence and “must not fabricate or misrepresent the Bible.”
“AI cannot pray for you because AI is not alive,” Park told The Associated Press.
The growing faith-based AI market
“Just Like Me” joins a growing list of religious AI products. Developed by Kyoto University professor Seiji Kumagai, BuddhaBot was trained on early Buddhist scriptures. In February, Kyoto University, in partnership with technology companies Teraverse and XNOVA, unveiled Buddharoid, a humanoid robot monk created to assist priests.
This market expansion comes as mental health experts are sounding the alarm about the emotional connection between users and AI chatbots.
In January, Character.AI and Google agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging that the company’s chatbots contributed to teen suicides and mental health crises.
In one case, a mother in Florida claimed that her 14-year-old son committed suicide after developing a strong attachment to an AI character.
California Senate Bill 243 went into effect on January 1, 2026, requiring AI companion apps to disclose that users are interacting with artificial intelligence and to take safeguards against content related to suicide and self-harm.
Beth Singler, an anthropologist who studies AI and faith, said the full extent of AI in religion remains unclear.
