# Synthesia puts a talking avatar inside your website’s AI agent

Interactive Avatars connects a live face to your own agent, with examples for knowledge-base answers and forms that respond to speech. The integration uses LiveKit.

Published: 2026-09-23. Updated: 2026-09-23. Author: XANTRANS editorial.

The useful part is the connection between conversation and the page: an avatar can explain an answer while the agent updates a form. Your application still supplies the knowledge and actions.

## A face for the agent you already run

Synthesia now lists Interactive Avatars as a generally available API. It brings a responsive video character into a website, product or internal tool, while the developer keeps control of the underlying conversation.

The documented Python integration attaches to a LiveKit voice agent. You supply the language model and speech recognition; Synthesia renders the face, with an optional built-in speech voice. The avatar appears as a participant in the LiveKit room. This is a live conversation rather than a prerecorded presenter reading a fixed script.

## Speak, and the form changes

The official Tools quickstart shows a booking form being filled through conversation. The agent calls a function to update a field, then sends that change to the browser. Typing directly into the form sends the edit back, so the agent can acknowledge the same information.

Both directions share server-side state. That matters when someone says a date aloud, then corrects it with the keyboard: the conversation and interface can refer to one record. The example submits to a log; connecting it to a real booking system or CRM requires additional implementation.

For a product demo, this pattern could let a visitor describe what they need while the page assembles the relevant details. That is an application of the documented tools pattern, not a result from a XANTRANS deployment.

## Give it a source for its answers

A separate RAG example retrieves reference material before composing a spoken answer. It starts with Wikipedia and includes an AWS Bedrock option for a private knowledge base. Updating that reference collection changes what the agent can retrieve without retraining the model.

For a support assistant, the useful content would be the product’s own instructions and policies. Retrieval can make answers more relevant, but Synthesia explicitly describes this grounding as prompt-based rather than a guarantee. A convincing face does not establish that its answer is correct.

## What you need to build it

The official repository provides three starting projects: a minimal conversation, knowledge-base retrieval and interactive tools. The developer overview requires Python 3.10 or later and a Synthesia key with Interactive Avatar access. A direct API route is also documented for developers who manage the session themselves.

There is currently no ready-made iframe to paste into a site. The operational docs specify LiveKit transport, synthetic or personal avatars rather than stock avatars, and bust framing without hand or full-body controls. Mobile is not the primary target.

The examples are local demos, not deployment-ready services. In particular, the Tools example needs authentication around its token endpoint before public use, because starting an agent session incurs costs.

## Check the rate before budgeting

As checked on 23 September, Synthesia’s product page lists $0.12 per minute, while its operational documentation lists $0.10 per minute. Those official figures conflict, so this article does not present either as a confirmed account rate. Verify the price in the workspace before committing a production budget, and include the other services in your chosen agent stack.

## Sources

- [Synthesia: Interactive Avatars and availability](https://www.synthesia.io/features/avatars/interactive-avatars) (checked 2026-09-23)
- [Synthesia: developer overview](https://docs.synthesia.io/reference/interactive-avatars) (checked 2026-09-23)
- [Synthesia: live tools and shared form state](https://docs.synthesia.io/reference/interactive-avatar-tools-quickstart) (checked 2026-09-23)
- [Synthesia: knowledge-base quickstart](https://docs.synthesia.io/reference/interactive-avatar-rag-quickstart) (checked 2026-09-23)
- [Synthesia: pricing and current limitations](https://docs.synthesia.io/reference/ia-operational-trust) (checked 2026-09-23)
- [Synthesia: official example applications](https://github.com/synthesia-ai/interactive-avatar-quickstarts) (checked 2026-09-23)

Written with AI assistance from official sources. XANTRANS has not independently tested this integration.


Original page: https://xantrans.com/blog/synthesia-interactive-avatars-livekit-websites/