Meta announced Thursday that US users can now video chat with Muse, the company’s consumer AI agent, through a feature called Muse Voice. The capability was first introduced at Meta’s Connect developer conference in September and is now rolling out to all users in the United States.
The video chat feature uses Meta’s Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice technology to power an animated digital avatar that users interact with through conversation. According to Meta, the avatar uses “subtle expressions and gestures” that match the tone of the conversation. The AI hears users but does not see them, reacting based on their speech.
Users can customize the avatar’s appearance to resemble a person, animal or other character. Meta’s default avatar is nicknamed Jolly. Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang demonstrated the feature on X with an avatar styled as a fluffy white dog.
The real-time conversations are currently supported on mobile, web and Mac. Meta says the feature will later come to its AI Glasses and to an upcoming wearable device called the “Muse Charm.” Meta plans to launch the Muse Charm before year-end. The device will feature a small screen displaying the digital avatar, letting users talk to the agent for responses and task completion.
Meta believes that giving its AI assistant a visual, animated form could help consumers feel more connected to the agent, particularly as they engage in live conversations with it. While other AI competitors offer voice chat features, Meta is positioning the animated avatar as a differentiating element in the consumer AI assistant market.