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Meta laid out the next step of its AI integration strategy for social VR platform Horizon Worlds, noting that “very soon” creators will be able to add AI-powered NPCs to their worlds.

Earlier this year Meta introduced non-embodied NPCs, essentially letting Horizon Worlds creators plug in ‘background’ AI agents, which were meant to offer help, but not exist as avatars.

Now, Meta announced in a developer blog post it’s soon rolling out “fully-embodied conversational [large language model] NPCs”, which means makers will soon be able to populate their Horizon Worlds creations with NPCs ostensibly sourcing responses from Meta’s latest Llama LLM.

Meta says this will allow NPCs to hold dynamic, unscripted conversations with players, mix scripted dialogue with LLM-generated replies, and use different AI-generated voices from a built-in library. Check out the character builder in action below:

Creators will also be able to define NPCs by name, and include things like backstories, personality traits, and specific dialogue styles, which Meta notes could serve as quest givers, guides, lore-deepening characters, shopkeepers, or bosses that react dynamically.

Meta isn’t stopping there either. Later this year, the company says they’re also adding the ability for NPCs to trigger in-world actions, dynamically converse with real players, and “more.” We’re sure to learn more at the company’s annual developer conference, Meta Connect, when it kicks off September 17th.

This comes amid continued efforts to boost engagement in Horizon Worlds, and further differentiate it from other platforms too—like Rec Room, Roblox, and VRChat—all of which feature scripted NPCs.

To boot, earlier this month Meta released two major generative AI features (Creator Assistant and Style Reference) for its Horizon Worlds desktop editor, aimed at streamlining the development of user-generated environments.

In all, Meta is striving to arm Horizon Worlds creators with better desktop maker tools that require less technical knowledge, effectively letting them build more visually-rich (and soon) more narratively-rich games and experiences.