I want to build an AI avatar that feels human, good latency, where I can talk to it through live video chat. So think AI assistant that you talk to in real time through live video chat.

Here’s what I found for your AI avatar project, focusing on critical components necessary for creating a human-like assistant that you can engage with in real-time video chats.

Key AI Models

Natural Language Processing (Chatbot Models)

1. Qwen/Qwen3-0.6B

   • Downloads: 27,491,863
   • Likes: 1,366
   • License: Apache-2.0
   • Last Updated: July 26, 2025

2. Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct

   • Downloads: 12,729,066
   • Likes: 1,390
   • License: Apache-2.0
   • Last Updated: January 12, 2025

3. OpenAI GPT-2

   • Downloads: 13,032,158
   • Likes: 3,321
   • License: MIT
   • Last Updated: February 19, 2024

Text-to-Speech (Voice Synthesis Models)

1. hexgrad/Kokoro-82M

   • Downloads: 15,479,373
   • Likes: 6,403
   • License: Apache-2.0
   • Last Updated: April 10, 2025

2. coqui/XTTS-v2

   • Downloads: 9,202,671
   • Likes: 3,625
   • License: Other
   • Last Updated: December 11, 2023

3. ResembleAI/chatterbox

   • Downloads: 2,243,054
   • Likes: 1,658
   • License: MIT
   • Last Updated: June 10, 2026

Facial Animation Models

Unfortunately, there were no direct results for specialized facial animation models from my search on Hugging Face, but frameworks such as Unity with machine learning extensions, or services like NVIDIA's GauGAN might help achieve realistic facial expressions.

Next Steps

To implement your AI avatar:

1. NLP Component: Integrate a model like Qwen or GPT-2 for natural conversations.
2. TTS Component: Use Kokoro or coqui for lifelike speech output.
3. Facial Animation: Explore existing Unity or Unreal Engine plugins for avatar animation, or consider building a custom solution with available libraries.

Conclusion

For a solid and dynamic user experience, I recommend starting with the NLP model from the Qwen series and Kokoro for TTS to achieve a human-like interaction. While a straightforward facial animation model is not readily available, combining strategies from animation libraries and game engines could yield promising results.

If you're looking to commercialize this, ensure you check the licenses if you opt for the models mentioned. Let me know if you want further assistance, such as finding code repositories on GitHub related to these implementations!