What changes for users
Meta announced on Thursday that Muse Voice, the feature that lets users call and video chat with Muse, its consumer AI agent, is now available to all users in the United States. The functionality had been introduced in September at the company's Connect developer conference.
Video calling is based on new artificial intelligence models, called Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice, which power the digital avatar the user interacts with. According to the source, during the conversation the avatar uses expressions and gestures described as “subtle,” consistent with the tone of the exchange.
The avatar, nicknamed Jolly, is animated and customizable: users can turn it into a human figure, an animal, or another character. That is according to the company's presentation, whose stated aim is to make the agent feel closer and more familiar to users through this characterization.
Meta's strategy and the coming device
Meta argues that giving Muse an anthropomorphic appearance can make consumers feel more attached to their AI agent, and that this bond could be strengthened by real-time conversations. This is a company statement reported by the source, not an independently verified fact.
The distribution announcement came via a post on the company blog and on X from Alexandr Wang, Meta's chief AI officer, who shared a demonstration of his own Muse in action. In the demo, his avatar — a white, fluffy dog — responded to a joke about memes Wang had posted on X, suggesting that warnings be added to avoid misunderstandings.
The availability of video calls comes shortly before Meta's plan to launch, by the end of the year, a Tamagotchi-like wearable device dedicated to Muse. According to the source, the digital avatar will appear on the device's small screen, allowing the user to talk to the agent, which can respond or perform tasks on their behalf.
Platforms and open questions
Meta says real-time conversations are supported on mobile, web, and Mac, and that they will later also come to its AI Glasses and the future hardware device called “Muse Charm.” The source does not specify a date for these extensions.
Several aspects remain to be clarified that the available material does not cover: the conditions for accessing the feature, how conversation data is handled, the prices and specifications of the wearable device, and the actual timing of the launch. The comparison with competitors cited by the source is limited to the observation that other companies already offer voice chat features; the article does not provide the elements for a technical comparison.
