Meta Gives Its Muse AI Agent a Voice and a Talking Avatar Across the U.S.

Meta on Thursday, Nov. 5, began rolling out real-time voice conversations and animated, expressive avatars for Muse, its consumer AI agent, to users in the United States. The Meta Muse voice feature works in the Muse app on mobile, web and Mac. Users tap a phone icon in the app’s top-right corner and talk to their Muse, which answers out loud while its avatar reacts.

Meta previewed real-time conversations at its Connect conference in September. Thursday’s release makes them available to everyone in the U.S., TechCrunch reported.

How Muse voice works

Meta says two new systems power the feature: Muse Realtime Voice and Muse Realtime Avatar. Users can interrupt mid-answer, as in a normal conversation, and hear responses immediately. They can choose how present the avatar is, from voice only to side-by-side with the chat or full screen “when you want to talk face to face.” Meta says there are “hundreds of voices to choose from,” offering “the energy of a New Yorker or the flair of a pirate.” Users can change the voice at any time.

As the agent speaks, the avatar uses “subtle expressions and gestures that match the tone of the conversation,” Meta wrote. TechCrunch notes that Muse does not actually see the user. It hears them and reacts to the conversation. The default avatar is a cartoon character, and users can customize it to look more like a person, an animal or another character.

What Meta wants people to use it for

Meta pitches voice as a way to “think out loud.” That covers brainstorming, trip planning and rehearsing for a job interview or presentation. It is also a way to hand off tasks while a user’s hands are busy: “say what needs to get done while on a walk or when your hands are full, and Muse handles it in the background as you talk.”

Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, announced the rollout with a demo on X, TechCrunch reported. In it, his Muse, a fluffy white dog, jokingly suggested he add disclaimers to memes that might be read as Meta endorsements.

Key facts

Meta has not said whether voice conversations will cost extra or carry usage limits, and it gave no date for other countries. The company’s announcement says the features are rolling out “in the US to start.”

Hardware next, and the competition

Meta says voice conversations are “coming soon” to its AI glasses. TechCrunch reported that Meta plans to launch “Muse Charm,” a small wearable device for the agent, before the end of the year. The avatar will appear on the device’s screen. The Next Web also covered the release as Meta’s answer to the voice modes rivals already offer.

The launch caps a busy week for Meta’s AI unit. On Nov. 5, we reported that Meta acquired AI coding startup Conductor. Muse has already run into friction in shopping, as when Amazon blocked Meta’s Muse shopping agent in September. Meta’s pitch rests on making the agent feel present, an approach TechCrunch said Meta believes could make people feel more connected to it. For more on the company’s AI strategy, see our Meta company profile.

Sources

• Meta Newsroom — Give Your Muse a Voice, Nov. 5, 2026
• TechCrunch — Meta says US users can now video chat with their Muse AI avatar, Nov. 5, 2026
• The Next Web — Meta adds real-time voice chat and animated avatars to its Muse app