AurInfer vs Shapes Inc
Once the biggest name in Discord AI companions — no longer on Discord at all.
AurInfer leads in 14 of 14 evaluated features
What is Shapes Inc? Shapes Inc (built by Circle Labs) was the dominant AI-companion bot platform on Discord until it was permanently banned from the platform on May 1, 2025. It has not returned to Discord and now operates only as a standalone mobile app.
Nobody currently looking for a Discord-integrated AI companion — Shapes Inc no longer has any Discord presence to evaluate for that use case.
- Your old Shapes Inc bots stopped working when Discord banned the platform in May 2025
- You want an AI companion that's actually compliant with Discord's developer terms
- You want the reach Shapes Inc used to have, but built on a platform still operating in Discord's ecosystem
- You want a GitHub coding integration — something Shapes Inc never offered even at its peak
- You want a Mobile App that's part of an integrated multi-platform character, not a disconnected standalone app
Feature Comparison
Every documented capability, side by side
Platform Reach
85 (Discord, X, Bluesky, Minecraft, GitHub)
0 (Standalone mobile app only — 0 active integrations)
Yes — full server bot, your character lives in-channel
No — permanently banned since May 2025
Yes — autonomous posting, replies, quote-tweets
No
Yes — autonomous posting and native networks
No
Yes — joins as a real player, chats, builds, fights (10 min trial → Unlimited on Aurora)
No
Yes — autonomous Coding Studio: semantic repository search, interactive plan-and-review approval, sandboxed test execution, automated Git commits and Pull Requests
No known equivalent feature
Shapes Inc's mobile app has no Discord integration
Yes — Mobile App available to chat with existing characters and create new ones
Yes — relaunched standalone app (no Discord connection)
Discord + X + Bluesky + Minecraft
Standalone mobile app only
Voice & Media
2Live two-way Discord voice calls from $3.99/mo (Spark), scaling to 360 min/mo on Aurora
Mobile app only (not verifiable in Discord context — no Discord presence exists)
Dedicated Memory Engine, configurable
Was a signature original feature; unconfirmed in current standalone app
Autonomy & Moderation
2Built-in, context-aware AI moderation — 1 to 4 slots depending on tier
Not applicable — no server presence
Autonomous "Free Will" behavior — 2 to 6 agent slots depending on tier
Not applicable
Trust & Reliability
2Operates within current Discord developer terms
Found in violation, permanently banned
Growing on Discord natively
~400K on standalone app (down from ~30M Discord-era reach)
By the Numbers
Editorial scores from 1 to 5, derived from the documented facts above
Platform Reach
AurInfer leadsShapes Inc has zero Discord presence today and 0 external integrations; AurInfer provides 5 integrations including Discord, X, Bluesky, Minecraft, and GitHub.
Voice Calling
AurInfer leadsAny Shapes Inc voice capability is confined to its standalone app, not evaluable in a Discord context.
Setup Simplicity
AurInfer leadsShapes Inc requires downloading a separate app; there is no server-deployment path at all.
Value at Entry Price
AurInfer leadsNot directly comparable given the platform mismatch; scored conservatively.
Discord-Native Moderation
AurInfer leadsNo Discord presence means no applicable moderation feature.
Trust & Reliability Record
AurInfer leadsA platform-wide ban affecting 30 million users is the most severe trust event of any product in this comparison set.
Editorial Analysis
How AurInfer and Shapes Inc differ in practice
Shapes Inc was permanently banned from Discord on May 1, 2025, affecting roughly 30 million users, following Discord's finding of Developer Terms of Service violations. Circle Labs has publicly denied the specific allegation that it trained AI models on Discord message data. Shapes Inc has not returned to Discord as of 2026.
Historical context: For a long stretch, Shapes Inc was the category leader — persistent-memory AI companions, deeply embedded in Discord, with a community numbering in the tens of millions. That history is worth stating plainly, because it explains why the brand still shows up in searches today.
The ban: On May 1, 2025, Discord permanently banned Shapes Inc, terminating over 100,000 user-hosted bots and affecting roughly 30 million users. Discord cited two Developer Terms of Service violations: unauthorized collection of bot tokens, and allegations that Shapes trained AI models using Discord message data. Circle Labs has publicly and repeatedly denied the data-training allegation specifically — that denial is worth including for fairness, even though Discord's ban stood.
Current status: As of 2026, Shapes Inc has not returned to Discord in any form. Circle Labs relaunched the product as a standalone mobile companion app, raised an $8M seed round in April 2026, and reports roughly 400,000 monthly active users on the new app — a fraction of its Discord-era scale, and entirely disconnected from Discord communities.
Practical impact: The practical upshot: anyone searching for "Shapes Inc Discord bot" today is looking for something that no longer exists in that form, on that platform. There is no path to add a Shapes Inc character to a Discord server anymore, compliant or otherwise.
Verdict: AurInfer was built and operates within Discord's current developer terms, with the same core promise Shapes Inc originally offered — a persistent, personality-driven AI companion inside your server — plus reach to X, Bluesky, Minecraft, a Mobile App, and a GitHub Coding Studio that Shapes Inc never had even at its peak.
Despite the ban, Circle Labs successfully rebuilt outside Discord — an $8M seed round and 400K+ MAU as a standalone app is a real accomplishment, and speaks to genuine product quality independent of the platform dispute. It's simply no longer a relevant option for anyone evaluating a Discord-native AI character.
Common Questions
What people ask before switching from Shapes Inc
Is Shapes Inc still available on Discord?
No. Shapes Inc was permanently banned from Discord on May 1, 2025, and has not returned as of 2026.
What happened to Shapes Inc?
Discord banned the platform citing Developer Terms of Service violations — unauthorized bot-token collection and allegations of training AI models on Discord message data. Circle Labs, which operates Shapes Inc, has publicly denied the training allegation specifically.
What is Shapes Inc now, if not a Discord bot?
It relaunched as a standalone mobile companion app in 2026, raising an $8M seed round and reporting around 400,000 monthly active users — entirely separate from Discord.
Is there a way to get my old Shapes Inc bot working again?
No. The ban was platform-wide and permanent; Shapes Inc bots cannot be reinstated on Discord.
Ready to Make the Switch?
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All competitor data, pricing and feature comparisons are compiled from publicly available sources, including official documentation, product websites and public pricing pages. Features and pricing may change over time. If you represent Shapes Inc and notice an inaccuracy, please reach out via email.