Just a few days ago, a character named Merl appeared on the Minecraft website, raising many questions. But who is Minecraft Merl, and what purpose do they serve? Today, we answer that and more!

Who is Minecraft Merl?

Merl is not actually a new face, but instead a character returning from the past. They were initially the mascot of Minecraft Earth, an augmented reality mobile game shut down due to COVID-19, and were thought to be retired until Minecraft Earth potentially returned. However, Merl has instead returned to assist the Mojang support team as an AI.

A New Job

Upon entering the Minecraft Help Center, a small box of text with Minecraft Merl now appears on the bottom right of the screen above a chat bubble. If the chat bubble is clicked, you are then brought to a live chat with AI Merl, complete with an animated video feed of them on the left side. Merl can answer questions regarding Minecraft's gameplay and its support articles, and should sound be enabled, they will even respond verbally. However, attempting to ask Minecraft Merl anything beyond Minecraft and its support articles, including silly questions like “What is your favorite Minecraft Food?” will typically result in Minecraft Merl saying, “I don’t know.”

Concerns About Merl

When a problem arises, frustrations can already be high, and dealing with an AI support agent is not always a smooth support experience. Some fear this is marking a new direction Mojang wishes to take with support, and in this rapidly growing age of AI, it is not an unrealistic concern. Merl also says “I don’t know” a lot, including in some situations where they are supposed to be helping. At least for now, Mojang’s human-run ticket support system is still in place and can be found here.