Meta announced on Thursday that the Muse Voice feature, which enables users to call and video chat with the company’s consumer AI agent Muse, is now available to all users in the United States. The rollout follows the initial preview of the service at Meta’s Connect developer conference in September. According to a TechCrunch report by Sarah Perez, the expansion makes the capability accessible without a waiting list or invitation.
The video-chatting function relies on two newly introduced AI models named Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice. These models generate the animated representation of the assistant and synthesize spoken responses in real time, allowing a fluid back-and-forth exchange. Meta highlighted that the integration of the two models reduces latency compared with earlier text-only interactions, delivering a conversational experience that feels more immediate and natural.
Unlike competing voice-only agents, Muse appears as a cute, animated avatar that Meta has nicknamed Jolly. Users can modify the avatar’s appearance, choosing from human-like faces, animal forms or other stylized characters. The customization options are presented within the app’s settings and apply instantly to both video calls and on-screen interactions, giving each user a personalized visual companion that mirrors their preferences.
Meta believes that giving Muse a human-like form may deepen users’ emotional attachment to the AI, fostering a sense of connection that goes beyond functional assistance. The company argues that anthropomorphizing the assistant encourages more frequent engagement, as users are more likely to converse with a character they perceive as personable. This strategy aligns with Meta’s broader goal of integrating AI agents into everyday digital interactions.
The video-chat rollout precedes Meta’s plan to release a Tamagotchi-style wearable device for Muse before the end of the year. The compact gadget will feature a small screen on which the animated avatar can appear, allowing users to speak to the agent and receive spoken replies or task execution. Meta also referenced upcoming hardware called Muse Charm and future AI Glasses that will extend the real-time chat capability to additional form factors.
Currently the Muse Realtime conversations are supported on mobile devices, web browsers and Mac computers, with Meta promising broader availability on its AI Glasses and the Muse Charm hardware in later phases. The company has not disclosed pricing for the upcoming wearable, but indicated that the service will remain free for U.S. users as part of the broader Muse Voice offering. Meta’s expansion marks the most extensive consumer-facing deployment of an animated AI assistant to date.