Onboarding assistant

An onboarding assistant is an avatar that guides new users through setup and product education, answering questions and adapting the flow based on what the user is trying to do.

How onboarding assistants work

An onboarding assistant is an avatar that helps a new user understand, configure and start using a product. It turns setup from a static checklist into a guided conversation.

In a real-time avatar system, the assistant can combine product docs, account context and tool calls. It can answer questions, explain the next step, check whether a task is complete and adapt when the user gets stuck.

A concrete example: a developer integrating an avatar API asks how to create the first WebRTC session. The onboarding assistant explains the flow, points to the right docs and helps debug the next setup step.

The best onboarding assistants are narrow and practical. They should reduce time to first value, not overwhelm the user with every feature the product offers.

What Anam ships

Anam's Cara-4 model delivers expressive real-time avatars with around 150 ms server-side avatar-generation latency once a session is running, across 70+ languages. Builders use JavaScript and Python SDKs or integrations for LiveKit, Pipecat, ElevenLabs Agents, Agora, and VideoSDK. Bring any AI stack including OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, Groq, Deepgram, Cartesia, or custom providers. The platform supports WebRTC delivery, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, zero data retention, and regional data residency. Sessions stream low-latency audio and video to browsers and native apps.

Explore the real-time avatar API →

Related terms

Avatar API

An avatar API is a developer interface for creating, configuring, and streaming interactive digital characters inside an application, so products can start live avatar sessions, pass user input to an agent, and return spoken video responses in real time.

Interactive avatar

An interactive avatar is a digital character that listens to a user and responds in real time, using speech, language model reasoning, and live animation to support a two-way conversation instead of a fixed script.

Persona

A persona is the configured identity of an avatar, including its role, tone of voice, appearance, behaviour, knowledge boundaries, and rules for how it should respond to users.

Function calling

Function calling lets an LLM invoke approved tools or APIs during a conversation, so an avatar can fetch data, perform actions, or answer from live systems instead of relying on text generation alone.

Frequently asked questions

What does an onboarding assistant do?

An onboarding assistant guides new users through setup, explains product concepts, answers early questions, and helps them reach the first useful outcome faster.

Why use an avatar for onboarding?

An avatar can make onboarding feel guided and conversational, especially when users need help understanding steps, choosing settings, or staying oriented inside a new product.

Can an onboarding assistant adapt to each user?

Yes. It can use role, plan, product state, progress, language, or integration context to explain the next step without giving every user the same generic tour.

What should an onboarding avatar connect to?

Useful connections include product docs, setup checklists, account state, API status, integration guides, sample projects, and human handoff for users who get stuck.

Last updated: 17th July 2026 · Reviewed quarterly.

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