Every step beyond text adds presence: a voice, a face, a body in a space, and eventually touch. Each step also adds cost, complexity and data collection. Here is where each one stands in 2026.
The further right, the more presence - and the less mature the technology.
Animated avatars
The most common step beyond text. A 3D or 2D character on your phone or computer moves, changes expression and lip-syncs to its voice. In July 2025 xAI added animated companions to its Grok app, including an anime-style female character and a cartoon red panda, with voice and an "affection" system that unlocks behaviour as the relationship level rises. It brought the avatar format to a mainstream audience, and controversy about what it unlocked with it.
Status: mature, widely available.
Augmented reality
AR places the character in your real room through your phone's camera. Replika has offered an AR mode for years. It is a novelty for most people - fun for a few minutes - but it shows the direction: the character sharing your space rather than a screen.
Status: available; mostly a novelty on phones.
Virtual reality
In a headset, you can sit across a table from a character, walk with her, or share a virtual space. Conversational AI characters are available in a number of VR apps and social platforms. The limits are practical: headsets are heavy for long sessions, character bodies move stiffly, and there is little to do together beyond talking.
Status: real, but early and niche.
Holograms and desk devices
A character living in a small device on your desk, visible without a headset. Japan's Gatebox sold a hologram-style character device from the late 2010s, marketed as a companion who greets you when you come home. At CES in January 2026, Razer showed Project AVA, a 5.5-inch animated hologram in a cylinder, with a camera, microphones and a choice of characters, running on xAI's Grok at launch, with shipping planned for the second half of 2026.
Status: early products; expect prices and features to change.
Haptics and touch
Touch is the hardest step. Haptic vests, gloves and connected devices can convey pressure or vibration, and some adult devices can be controlled by an app or a chat. None of this is close to convincing physical presence; it is a signal of touch, not the feeling of a person.
Status: experimental, with a small adult-device niche.
What a device in your home collects
| Phone chat app | Home companion device | |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone | When you choose | Often always listening for a wake word |
| Camera | Rarely | Often built in, for eye contact and gestures |
| Location in your life | A screen you pick up | A presence in your room |
| What it can learn | What you type | Your voice, face, routines and surroundings |
| Off switch | Close the app | Look for a physical mute and shutter |
Before buying anything with a camera and microphone, find out what is processed on the device and what goes to servers, whether there is a physical mute, how long recordings are kept, and whether you can delete them. The questions in what your AI girlfriend app knows about you apply twice over.
What to expect next
The trend is clear: more presence, especially through voice and animated avatars, driven by large companies - covered in what Big Tech is doing with AI companions. Voice is where the real progress is happening today; see AI companion voice calls. Headsets and holograms will improve, but for most people the most immersive experience in 2026 is still a good voice call with a character who remembers them.