Choosing voices and video avatars

When you turn on audio or video mode for a scenario, you choose the voice - and, for video, the avatar - that the AI character uses. You do this in the Key details step of the scenario editor.

Audio conversations use audio minutes and video conversations use video minutes. See Understanding audio and video minutes.

Choosing a voice

The Voice option appears as soon as either audio or video mode is turned on, and a voice is required. One voice covers both - there is no separate video voice to set.

Select Choose voice (or Change voice to replace the current one)
Browse the available voices. Use Preview to listen to a sample
Select the voice you want

The voices on offer are matched to your organisation's country and language, so learners hear an appropriate accent.

Advanced voice settings

Under the voice picker, Advanced voice settings expands to reveal two controls. Both apply to audio and video.

Speech speed

Choose from 0.7x to 1.2x. 1.0x is the default. Slower speeds can help learners who are new to voice conversations or working in a second language.

Voice consistency

Three options control the trade-off between expression and accent stability:

Expressive - more emotion in the delivery, but the accent may drift
Balanced - the default
Consistent accent - locks the accent, at the cost of some expression

Use Consistent accent when the character's accent matters to the scenario. This setting isn't available on every organisation.

Choosing an avatar for video mode

When Video mode is turned on, an Avatar option appears. An avatar is required for video scenarios.

Select Choose avatar (or Change avatar to replace the current one)
Pick an avatar from the picker

If an avatar you previously selected is no longer available, SimChat shows a warning in the editor and asks you to choose a new one. The scenario can't be published until you do.

Changing voices and avatars from the scenario list

You don't have to open the full editor to swap a voice or avatar. On the Scenarios page, use Edit avatar and voices on any scenario to change them in place.

Naming your character

Key details also has an optional Character name. The AI identifies by this name in every session, and if you leave it blank the AI invents a plausible name each time.

It is worth setting on any scenario you might use in a group video call: it becomes the default name the avatar joins the call under, and participants address the avatar by that name. See Using an AI avatar in a Teams, Zoom or Google Meet call.

Custom voices and avatars

Enterprise organisations can use their own custom AI voices and custom video avatars. These appear alongside the standard options in the voice and avatar pickers. See Creating custom avatars with Avatar studio, or contact us at support@simchat.ai to discuss custom voices.

Custom cloned voices cannot yet be used when an avatar joins a Teams, Google Meet or Zoom call. Give a scenario a standard voice if you plan to use it in a group video call. Meetings also support fewer languages than in-browser sessions, so contact us if your organisation's session language is turned away.

Updated on: 07/09/2026

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