Meta has opened Muse Voice to everyone in the U.S., so users can now call and video chat with an animated avatar of Muse, its consumer AI agent. TechCrunch AI reports that the company announced the rollout on Thursday, after first introducing the feature at its Connect developer conference in September.
Talking to an AI isn’t new. Plenty of competitors already offer voice chat. What stands out here is the face: Meta is betting that you’ll feel more connected to an agent you can look at while it talks back.
6 Things to Know About Muse Voice
- It runs on new models built for live conversation. Meta’s using two new AI models, Muse Realtime Avatar and Muse Realtime Voice, to power the digital character on your screen. As the names suggest, one handles the visuals and the other the speech, and both are built around real-time back-and-forth.
- The avatar comes with a nickname and a cute look. The animated character is nicknamed Jolly. You talk to it while asking questions or requesting tasks, which makes the whole thing feel closer to a call than a search box.
- You can change what it looks like. Users can customize the avatar to look more like a person, an animal, or some other character. Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, went with a fluffy white dog for his own Muse.
- It reacts to you, but it can’t see you. Meta says the avatar uses “subtle expressions and gestures” that match the tone of the conversation. There’s an important limit here, though. Muse doesn’t actually see the user. It hears you and reacts based on what you say, so don’t expect it to notice your facial expression or what’s in the room.
- It’s meant to do things, not just chat. Meta pitches Muse as an agent, so users can ask it to handle tasks on their behalf. TechCrunch’s report doesn’t spell out which tasks work over a video call, and that’s worth watching. A charming avatar only goes so far if the agent behind it can’t get much done.
- It’s live on mobile, web, and Mac. Real-time conversations are supported on all three today, with Meta’s AI Glasses and the upcoming “Muse Charm” hardware coming later. The report doesn’t mention pricing or plans for a launch outside the U.S.
The Demo Had Jokes
Wang announced the rollout through a blog post and on X, where he shared a demo of his Muse in action. In the video, he jokes about his love of posting memes on X and tells his Muse it may have gotten him in trouble with his boss.
The dog’s advice? Add disclaimers to any memes that could be misread as Meta endorsing something risqué. It’s a staged demo, so it won’t tell you much about everyday performance, but it does show the vibe Meta wants: casual, playful, and more like a buddy than a tool.
Why the Hardware Matters
The timing makes this launch look like groundwork. Meta plans to ship a Tamagotchi-like wearable for Muse before the end of the year. The avatar will appear on the device’s small screen, where users can talk to the agent and have it reply or carry out tasks.
That tells you where this is heading. Video chat in an app gets people used to treating Muse as a character, and the wearable then puts that character on your body all day. If the bond Meta’s hoping for actually forms, it’s a real edge, because people don’t switch away from a companion as easily as they switch chatbots.
I’d also keep an eye on the flip side. Meta openly believes that making Muse feel more human could strengthen how connected people feel to it. That’s great for engagement, but it’s also exactly the kind of design choice that deserves scrutiny as these agents move into daily life.
What Comes Next
The big test comes with the Muse Charm launch, and whether people want an AI pet on their wrist, bag, or wherever Meta expects it to live. You can find more details on the rollout in TechCrunch AI’s original report.