Editorial illustration for Meta lets US users video chat with Muse AI avatar to deepen connection
Meta Launches Video Chat With Muse AI Avatar
Meta opened up video chatting with Muse, its consumer AI agent, to every user in the US on Thursday. The feature, called Muse Voice, lets people call or video chat with an animated avatar nicknamed Jolly, which responds to questions and handles tasks in real time. Meta first showed off the capability at its Connect developer conference in September, built on two new systems: Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice.
Other companies have rolled out voice assistants that talk back, but Meta's bet is on the visual layer. Users can reshape the avatar into a person, an animal, or something else entirely, and Meta says the character reacts with "subtle expressions and gestures" that track the mood of the conversation, even though it can't actually see who it's talking to. The company's wager is that giving an AI agent a face, and a body language, makes people more willing to treat it like something worth talking to regularly.
Alexandr Wang, Meta's chief AI officer, announced the rollout in a blog post and on X, posting a demo of his own Muse avatar in conversation.
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.
Why this matters
Meta is betting that a face and a voice will succeed where chatbots haven't: making people treat an AI agent like a presence rather than a tool. For developers and founders building consumer AI products, the Muse Voice rollout is worth watching as a live test of whether "anthropomorphizing" actually drives retention, or just drives headlines. Meta has the distribution to run this experiment at a scale few others can match, which means we'll get real data on parasocial engagement with AI faster than from any academic study.
We're skeptical of the framing, though. "Subtle expressions and gestures" designed to deepen connection is a product decision with real consequences for how people relate to software, especially at Meta's user volume. Researchers studying AI companionship and attachment should treat this as a notable data point, not just a feature launch.
If Muse Voice moves usage metrics, expect every major consumer AI player, from OpenAI to Google, to ship their own animated avatar within the year. The interesting question isn't whether this works technically. It's what happens to users who start preferring the avatar's company.
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Common Questions Answered
What is Muse Voice and how does it differ from other AI voice assistants?
Muse Voice is Meta's video chat feature that lets US users interact with an animated AI avatar called Jolly, which responds to questions and handles tasks in real time. Unlike other competitors' voice assistants that only provide audio responses, Meta's Muse offers a cute, customizable animated avatar that users can personalize to look like a person, animal, or other character, creating a more engaging visual experience.
When did Meta first introduce Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice technology?
Meta first showcased the Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice capabilities at its Connect developer conference in September. The company then expanded the feature to all US users on Thursday, making video chatting with the Muse AI agent available to everyone in the country.
How can users customize their Muse avatar experience?
Users can customize the Muse avatar by changing its appearance to look like something that resonates with them personally, whether that's a more realistic person, an animal, or some other character entirely. This customization feature allows each user to create a unique visual representation of their AI agent that matches their preferences.
What is Meta's strategic goal with the Muse Voice rollout?
Meta is betting that providing a face and voice will make people treat the AI agent as a presence rather than just a tool, potentially driving higher user retention and engagement. The company is essentially testing whether anthropomorphizing an AI agent through visual and audio elements actually increases user connection and parasocial engagement at scale.
Why is Meta's scale significant for testing the Muse Voice feature?
Meta has the distribution infrastructure to run this AI experiment at a scale that few other companies can match, which means the company will gather substantial real-world data on whether anthropomorphic AI agents actually drive retention. This large-scale rollout provides valuable insights for developers and founders building consumer AI products about the effectiveness of humanizing AI interfaces.
Further Reading
- Meta says US users can now video chat with their Muse AI avatar - TechCrunch
- Meta Adds Real-Time Voice Conversations and Expressive Avatars to Muse - iClarified
- Meta's Muse AI agent moves towards acting on users' behalf - The Daily Star
- Meta turns Muse into an AI agent that can work on the user's behalf - Tech News AM
