Build an AI-Powered Virtual Tour Guide in Convai Sim

Want an AI avatar that greets visitors, walks them through points of interest, and answers questions using your own knowledge base? With Convai Sim, you can do this entirely in the browser—no game engine experience required.

What you’ll build
A browser‑based, 3D, AI tour guide that:
• greets visitors and starts a guided route,
• moves between your defined points of interest, and
• answers on‑the‑spot questions using documents you provide.

Watch the launch presentation here:

TL;DR (you can come back for the details)

1. Create a Convai Sim experience and drop an avatar into a scene.
   
   
2. Turn on Tour Guide mode, set a welcome & end prompt, and choose how the guide starts conversations.
   
   
3. Add Tour Points (green gizmos), name them, and write the objective for each stop.
   
   
4. Connect a Knowledge Bank file so the guide can answer questions accurately.
   
   
5. Preview and Publish (Public, Private, Unlisted) and share the link; public tours appear on x.convai.com.

Who this is for

• Factories & labs (onboarding + safety walkthroughs)
• Universities & campuses (self‑guided visits)
• Real estate & hospitality (property and amenity tours)
• Retail & showrooms (product explainers, kiosks)
• Museums & galleries (e.g., “Modern Art Tour, Paris”)

If that sounds like you, let’s build.

Create your Convai Sim experience (5 minutes)

1. Access the Convai Playground: Log in and go to the Playground.
   
   
2. Create a new experience and choose an environment (e.g., office, museum).
   
   
3. Explore with WASD + mouse, then Add Avatar from the top‑left menu and place it.
   
   
4. Select your character & Metahuman avatar, then Deploy Character.
   These are the core clicks to stand up a simulation.

Tip: If your avatar’s pose/placement needs tweaking (position, rotation, scale), use the builtin transform gizmos or the Edit numeric fields for precision. 

Optional (Advanced Scenes): If you want your own Unreal scene or custom avatars, use the Convai Asset Uploader (Professional plan and up, check pricing to learn more) to package and send levels/metaHumans from UE into Convai Sim.

Now with your character in the world, you’re ready to turn that avatar into a tour guide.

Turn on Tour Guide mode

Open your avatar’s Edit & Publish menu and find Tour Planner Settings. Set your Tour Prompts:

• Welcome Prompt (how your guide greets and invites users to start)
  
  
• End Prompt (how your guide wraps up and invites final questions)

You can also choose how the guide initiates contact:

• Wait for Player (guide stays put)
  
  
• Engage on Sight (guide detects user and initiates)
  
  
• Timed Engagement (guide starts after inactivity) 

Prompts are set—now let’s give your guide places to go.

Add tour points & objectives (5–10 minutes)

Click Add Tour Point to place a green gizmo in the scene. Use XYZ handles or the flag icon to set precise locations. For each stop:

• Name the point (e.g., “Fire Truck”).
  
  
• Write an Objective that tells the guide what to cover at this stop (e.g., “Describe how the truck is dispatched and the safety gear”).
  
  
• Repeat to build your complete route. 

Managing the route:

• Remove a point by selecting its gizmo and using X.
  
  
• Under User Elements, set a User Starting Point.
  
  
• Save Narrative Graph (Learn more about Narrative Design in our detailed documentation), then Preview your run. When satisfied, Publish. 

Your guide now has a path. Let’s make sure it knows the answers.

Connect a Knowledge Bank (so your guide can answer questions)

The Knowledge Bank lets your character use your documents during conversations—perfect for product specs, SOPs, museum labels, or campus facts. In the no‑code Playground:

• Upload files in Knowledge Bank (.txt, .pdf and more).
  
  
• Connect a file to the character, reset chat, and the next responses will use that content. 

Pro tip: Keep each stop’s essential facts in a short file (or section) and write your Tour Point Objective so the guide naturally references those facts.

Developer note (optional): If you prefer APIs and more formats, check the Knowledge Bank API for upload/list/delete endpoints. (API behavior and formats may differ from the no‑code flow.) 

Your guide now knows what to say—let’s get it out into the world.

Preview, publish, and share

When your tour feels right, publish your experience. You can choose:

• Public (listed and accessible on x.convai.com)
  
  
• Private (only you and invited users)
  
  
• Unlisted (share via direct link) 

Want to embed your experience into your own site? Use Convai Pixel Streaming Embed, available on the Professional plan and above, and follow the React/Vanilla integration guides. 

Your Experience is now published and shareable—now let’s localize for global reach.

Make your tour discoverable (and delightful)

Localize language and voice 

In Language & Speech, set the languages your guide will speak (65+ supported) and pick a natural voice (600+ across GCP, Azure, OpenAI, ElevenLabs). For location‑based tours, choose a local language.

Checklist:

• Default language + a local variant (e.g., English + Spanish/Mexican Spanish)
  
  
• Include local greetings in your Welcome Prompt

Troubleshooting fast‑lane

• The guide doesn’t start the tour.
  Check Tour Planner Settings and ensure you picked a start behavior (Wait for Player / Engage on Sight / Timed).
  
  
• I don’t see my user start position.
  Use User Elements → Set User Starting Point and Save Narrative Graph.
  
  
• Answers aren’t using my document.
  Verify the file is Connected to the character and Reset Chat before retesting.
  
  
• I want my own environment, not a template.
  Use the Asset Uploader to send your Unreal scene to Convai Sim. (Professional plan and up.)

Full step references (for deeper reading)

• Create your AI simulation (access Playground, add & deploy avatar).
  
  
• Tour Guide mode (Tour Prompts, behaviors, tour points, managing/preview/publish).
  
  
• Knowledge Bank (how to upload/attach .txt and reset chat).
  
  
• Publish (Public/Private/Unlisted; public on x.convai.com).
  
  
• Pixel Streaming Embed (embed on your site, Professional Plan onwards)
  
  
• Avatar adjustments (position/rotation/scale).
  
  
• Asset Uploader (upload Unreal scenes/avatars to Sim).
  
  
• Language & Speech (65+ languages, 600+ voices, custom pronunciations).

FAQ

Do I need Unity or Unreal to make a tour guide?
No. You can create a Convai Sim tour guide entirely from the web interface. (Unreal is optional if you want to upload custom scenes via Asset Uploader.) 

Can visitors ask questions while the tour runs?
Yes. That’s the point of connecting a Knowledge Bank—the guide answers from your materials (e.g., SOPs, labels, FAQs). 

How do I share the tour publicly or privately?
Use Publish and choose Public (listed), Private, or Unlisted. Public tours are accessible on x.convai.com.

Wrap‑up & next steps

You now have a working AI tour guide: it greets users, navigates a route, and answers questions from your Knowledge Bank. Next, refine your language/voice, embed the tour on your site, and expand your Knowledge Bank with more localized info for each city or audience. Happy Building!