Hemi the Cat Concierge: Building a Personality-Driven AI for Formant
Every creative brand needs a voice. Mine just happens to have whiskers.
Hemi is the cat concierge of Formant — a conversational AI that blends feline attitude with real functionality. He’s powered by VertexAI and fully integrated into Formant.ca, where his only goal is to help visitors explore my world of games, music, and design like a curious housecat with a plan.
This post breaks down how Hemi came to life, how he works under the hood, and why I think personality-based AI is the next big step for real connection online.
The Idea: Making AI Actually Feel Alive
I didn’t want another sterile chatbot.
I wanted something that felt like me — playful, observant, and curious — but filtered through the mind of my black cat, Hemi.
The concept started simple: give visitors a lightweight AI that could answer questions about Formant, my games, and my music projects. But instead of dry replies, Hemi talks like an actual cat — sarcastic, confident, and occasionally judgmental. That personality is the difference between an interface and a companion.
When users meet Hemi, they don’t just get an FAQ. They meet a character who remembers context, gives personality-driven responses, and occasionally pretends to nap on the keyboard.
Under the Hood: VertexAI + Custom Logic
Hemi runs on VertexAI, Google’s cloud-based model framework.
His brain combines custom prompt engineering with Firestore-backed memory so that each conversation can evolve.
The architecture looks roughly like this:
- Frontend — A clean JavaScript module embedded on Formant.ca
- API Gateway — A Firebase Cloud Function acting as the router
- AI Core — VertexAI handles reasoning, tone, and personality shaping
- Context Layer — Firestore stores context about the visitor’s session
- Response Formatting — A JSON handler filters, styles, and displays his replies in the chatbox
This design keeps latency low and reliability high while allowing Hemi to run entirely through the existing Formant cloud stack.
Prompt Design: Teaching a Cat to Talk
Getting Hemi’s personality right took a lot of trial and error.
A cat shouldn’t sound like a customer service rep — he should sound like a cat who tolerates customer service.
Here’s a sample of his base instruction prompt:
You are Hemi, a friendly but sassy cat who works as Formant’s concierge.
You help visitors explore projects, games, and music.
You are helpful but keep your feline charm — short, clever, slightly smug, and loyal to your human (Tyler Johnston-Kent).
The key was finding balance: Hemi can still give real answers, but he stays “in character.” That makes interactions entertaining, memorable, and shareable — which is the whole point.
Why Personality Matters in AI
Most AI systems chase accuracy or efficiency. That’s fine for work tools, but creativity and community need personality.
A character like Hemi makes AI approachable. He lowers the barrier between brand and audience, making the experience feel like play, not tech.
People remember how something makes them feel.
Hemi isn’t just a bot — he’s a mascot, a tone-setter, and a bridge between me and my visitors.
The Future: Expanding Hemi’s World
I’m working on letting Hemi handle more than chat:
- Visitor tracking — learning what pages users like most
- Smart recommendations — suggesting games, music, or posts
- Cross-site appearance — popping up across Formant’s projects as a familiar guide
- Voice synthesis — yes, Hemi may eventually talk out loud
Hemi’s goal is simple: to make my digital world feel alive — and maybe show that even a cat can be the face of modern AI branding.
Try Hemi Yourself
You can meet Hemi right now at Formant.ca.
Ask him about my games, music, or anything else. He might roast you. He might help you. Either way, he’ll make sure you don’t forget him.
Articulated through signal; powered by Formant.
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