Play Tech AI is gearing up for the official launch of Buddy and Tilly – MiAi Chatbots, its first AI-powered product range. We sat down with MD Paul Clarke to learn what these impressive products can do, putting child-safety at the forefront, and why the launch is just the start for this ambitious new toy company
Play Tech AI is an ambitious new toy company on a mission to finally deliver on the promise of a truly interactive toy companion for kids. More than just a plaything, its debut product launch, Buddy and Tilly – MiAi Chatbots, are all-in-one smart toys that kids can engage with in child-safe, fully artificial intelligence-powered conversations.
The company is headed up by Managing Director Paul Clarke, who has been working alongside “a strong team, with many years of experience in the toy industry” for more than a year to develop the range. Buddy and Tilly – MiAi Chatbots officially launch in August 2026, with partners in the UK, EU, US and South Africa, following a soft launch in Ireland in December 2025. The limited rollout was designed to test market response and get feedback from select retail partners. That experience, Paul says, confirmed the team’s conviction that the market is ready for a product of this scope.
“We launched with Brown Thomas and Arnott’s in Ireland, who were incredible partners” he says. “We did some instore demos over the Christmas holidays, and the response was very good: parents loved the amount of content that is available on our products, and the fact there is no subscription fee. And the children did not want to hand Buddy back! That gave us the confidence we had developed a unique product.”
The Chatbots pack a real punch in the play value department. At the heart of the experience are AI interactions and conversations, a digital walled garden for kids to learn, interact, develop key skills, and simply play. Buddy and Tilly respond to voice commands and hold real conversations. They have a built-in camera for safe photo fun and creative play, and come packaged with a stylus for on-screen doodling. They even walk and emote.
Each Chatbot also comes pre-loaded with hours of video content, fun and educational games covering STEM and Montessori principles, and apps, from karaoke to digital painting and drawing. The free app store also provides families with a further choice of appropriate, child-friendly software to download and customise play time.
“We can, like many devices, update or add additional apps, with push notifications to end users’ devices, to add additional fun apps and content in the future,” Paul adds. Powering the content and interactions behind these cute companions is a sophisticated suite
of technology, with child safety at the forefront.
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