Agora, Inc. (NASDAQ: API), the real-time engagement (RTE) platform known for powering live video and conversational AI, has partnered with Akool, a fast-rising player in AI-driven video and avatar tech, to bring streaming avatars into Agora’s ecosystem. The result? Developers can now drop lifelike, expressive avatars into chat, video, and voice applications with just a few lines of code.
The integration merges Agora’s Conversational AI Engine with Akool’s avatar generation and streaming technology, creating an immersive bridge between text, sound, and visual presence.
“Agora’s mission is to enable immersive real-time experiences,” said Tony Wang, Agora’s Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer. “By integrating Akool’s avatar technology, we’re elevating what conversational applications can be — voice plus visual presence.”
From Voice to Visual: The New Face of Conversational AI
Until now, conversational AI largely stopped at text and voice. Agora’s new partnership moves the experience into full 3D territory. Akool’s avatars don’t just lip-sync—they replicate facial expressions, gestures, and emotional nuance in real time, synchronized to speech.
For developers, that means apps can now host AI agents that “see and speak,” not just chat. The avatars can function as virtual hosts, customer service reps, or even interactive educators. The underlying tech aims to humanize digital interactions without increasing development complexity.
Through the Agora platform, developers can now:
- Select Akool as a beta avatar provider within the Agora API stack.
- Configure avatars directly for meetings, livestreams, webinars, or AI-driven assistants.
- Deliver expressive visual agents that respond instantly to human speech or chatbot logic.
Why This Matters: Presence = Engagement
Akool’s CEO Jiajun (Jeff) Lu put it succinctly:
“Conversations become more powerful when you can both hear and see an expressive presence. Partnering with Agora makes it easy for developers to bring those experiences to life.”
That vision fits neatly with a growing industry trend: agentic AI—autonomous or semi-autonomous digital entities that can communicate naturally with humans. While companies like Meta, Synthesia, and Soul Machines are exploring virtual avatars for entertainment and enterprise training, Agora’s strength lies in real-time interaction at scale.
This partnership essentially democratizes avatar deployment for developers already using Agora’s infrastructure—removing the need for standalone avatar SDKs or separate rendering pipelines.
Use Cases: Where You’ll See It First
Agora and Akool are pitching the integration for a range of scenarios:
- Virtual hosts and AI agents – Real-time avatars that present, narrate, or interact.
- Livestreams and webinars – Lifelike presenters that can deliver scripted or dynamic content.
- Customer service – Humanized, trustworthy digital agents for support.
- Education and training – Interactive avatars leading virtual classrooms or simulations.
As conversational AI evolves from chatbot to companion, these avatars could become the visual layer that keeps users engaged — especially in spaces like e-commerce, telehealth, and education, where trust and presence matter.
What’s Next
The integration is currently in beta, with both companies planning joint demos, developer resources, and marketing campaigns to showcase the tech. Future iterations will expand language support, avatar realism, and latency optimization, ensuring smooth global performance.
For Agora, this partnership deepens its footprint in the AI engagement stack, giving developers new tools to blend human-like visuals with conversational logic. For Akool, it’s a fast track to scale — reaching a developer base already building on Agora’s infrastructure for live engagement and conversational AI.
The bigger picture? Conversational AI is getting a face — and it might just smile back..
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