--- title: AI moves into the real world as companion robots and pets description: CES 2026 showcased a growing trend of AI-powered companion robots designed for emotional connection rather than productivity. Unlike task-focused machines like... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/ai-moves-into-the-real-world-as-companion-robots-and-pets-1orfwq3up twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: AI moves into the real world as companion robots and pets | daily.dev og:description: CES 2026 showcased a growing trend of AI-powered companion robots designed for emotional connection rather than productivity. Unlike task-focused machines like... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/ai-moves-into-the-real-world-as-companion-robots-and-pets-1orfwq3up og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/1orFwq3Up.png og:image:alt: AI moves into the real world as companion robots and pets og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # AI moves into the real world as companion robots and pets **[The Verge](https://daily.dev/sources/theverge)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary CES 2026 showcased a growing trend of AI-powered companion robots designed for emotional connection rather than productivity. Unlike task-focused machines like smart appliances and humanoid helpers, these devices prioritize companionship through features like expressive displays and personality. Examples include Loona's DeskMate, which transforms an iPhone into a companion with animated eyes. This shift represents AI moving from purely functional automation toward physical, emotionally-engaging presence in daily life. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [New frontiers in robotics at CES 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/new-frontiers-in-robotics-at-ces-2026-i12uakfiw) · Robohub · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [AI breakthroughs in robotics won’t change your life any time soon](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-breakthroughs-in-robotics-won-t-change-your-life-any-time-soon-mg5mfagjg) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Tech that helps people outshone AI hype at CES 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/tech-that-helps-people-outshone-ai-hype-at-ces-2026-pvtnfxarm) · The Register · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [CES promises the robot butler, but delivers better Roombas instead](https://daily.dev/posts/ces-promises-the-robot-butler-but-delivers-better-roombas-instead-ixfjkj22m) · The Verge · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news), [#ai](https://daily.dev/tags/ai), [#iot](https://daily.dev/tags/iot), [#robotics](https://daily.dev/tags/robotics), [#ces](https://daily.dev/tags/ces) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-moves-into-the-real-world-as-companion-robots-and-pets-1orfwq3up) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"AI moves into the real world as companion robots and pets","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/ai-moves-into-the-real-world-as-companion-robots-and-pets-1orfwq3up","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/ai-moves-into-the-real-world-as-companion-robots-and-pets-1orfwq3up"},"datePublished":"2026-01-06T19:05:47.438Z","dateModified":"2026-01-06T19:06:12.835Z","description":"CES 2026 showcased a growing trend of AI-powered companion robots designed for emotional connection rather than productivity. Unlike task-focused machines like...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/4bda4786e9a84fc96f8b456f9f63e0ed?_a=AQAEulh","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/4bda4786e9a84fc96f8b456f9f63e0ed?_a=AQAEulh","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Verge","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Verge","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/eacb57b3570d4f04b1f0dc8f834d8135","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/theverge"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/ai-moves-into-the-real-world-as-companion-robots-and-pets-1orfwq3up","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"tech-news,ai,iot,robotics,ces","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Verge","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/theverge"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"AI moves into the real world as companion robots and pets"}]} ```