Artificial Intelligence1 min read

Meta says US users can now video chat with their Muse AI avatar

By · Via TechCrunch · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The feature enables people to hold real-time voice and video conversations with the digital assistant on mobile devices, the web, and Mac computers. An interactive character displays tailored expressions and subtle gestures throughout the dialogue, using a default animated persona named Jolly or various custom appearances. Meta intends for these visual interactions to build stronger bonds between consumers and the software during everyday queries. Moving forward, the company plans to bring the animated companion to smart glasses and a wearable device called Muse Charm.

Key points

  • The system employs proprietary real-time avatar and voice technologies to generate expres…: The system employs proprietary real-time avatar and voice technologies to generate expressive gestures and facial movements during user interactions.
  • Meta intends to build stronger consumer relationships with its consumer artificial intell…: Meta intends to build stronger consumer relationships with its consumer artificial intelligence by introducing anthropomorphic visual representations.
  • Upcoming hardware expansions will bring the animated assistant to AI Glasses and a Tamago…: Upcoming hardware expansions will bring the animated assistant to AI Glasses and a Tamagotchi-style wearable before the end of the year.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Muse Voice, a feature that lets users call and video chat with Meta’s consumer AI agent, Muse, is now available to everyone in the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.

First introduced at Meta’s Connect developer conference in September, the video chatting feature involves new AI models, Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice technology, which help power the digital avatar that chats with the user.

While other AI competitors offer voice chat features, Meta’s Muse offers a cute, animated avatar (nicknamed Jolly), which users interact with as they ask questions or request tasks to be handled on their behalf. Users can also customize the avatar as they choose, changing it to something that looks more like a person, animal, or some other character.

The company believes that anthropomorphizing Muse in this way could make consumers feel more connected to their AI agent — a connection that could grow even stronger as they begin to engage in live conversations with it.

As the Muse avatar speaks, Meta says it will use “subtle expressions and gestures” that match the tone of…

Artificial Intelligence