AI Booth Avatars for Expos and Trade Shows: Holographic Performance at Your Spot

Expos and trade shows are crowded spaces where every participant fights for attention. A booth’s success often depends on how quickly and effectively it can capture curiosity and sustain it long enough to communicate value. In the midst of so much noise, motion, and visual competition, standard displays and looping videos tend to blend into the background, leaving visitors with little reason to stop, let alone engage. 

Holographic AI avatars change that dynamic, combining the visual spectacle of holographic projection with AI-driven content adaptability. They create a striking, three-dimensional presence right in your booth – one that can be animated, scripted, and fine-tuned to deliver information in a way that’s both smart and visually arresting. Instead of flat signage, you get a living focal point that draws visitors in and keeps them engaged.

What Exactly is an AI Booth Avatar?

An AI booth avatar is essentially a virtual brand representative powered by artificial intelligence and displayed as a photorealistic human form (often called a digital human). Unlike a static chatbot or pre-recorded demo video, this avatar appears on a special display, such as a sleek holobox or expansive holowall, giving the illusion of a life-size person standing in the booth.

Importantly, these AI avatars for events are more than just visual effects. Connected to an intelligence engine, they can be instructed and trained on your content (product details, schedules, company FAQs) and use AI to generate appropriate responses the moment a question comes in.

Generative AI Booth Technology

Using cameras and microphones, the avatar can see attendees and listen to their inputs, responding with spoken language and gestures in a human-like manner. Backed by advanced AI (including natural language processing and generative AI models), it can carry on basic conversations: greet attendees, answer FAQs about the event or your products, and even handle spontaneous questions as they come up.

Unlike older systems with rigid scripts, modern AI models adapt on the fly. They understand how a query is phrased and tailor responses according to the context. The result is a natural, conversational style of interaction, which feels a step closer to speaking with a human representative.

The Many Styles of Booth AI Avatars

It’s also worth noting that 3D AI avatars can take on different forms and personalities to match the tone of your booth or the theme of the event. For example, an AI avatar at a tech expo might have a cutting-edge, forward-looking persona, whereas one at a tourism trade show could come across as more friendly and hospitable. In more stylized cases, they might appear as branded mascots, future-ready spokespeople, or even historical figures, depending on the story your brand wants to tell.

In every case, avatars’ on-screen appearance and behavior can be fine-tuned to fit the vibe of your space and the expectations of your audience. This flexibility lets you design your own virtual brand ambassador, choosing its look, voice, and attitude to match the kind of experience you want to create, whether that’s sleek and professional, playful and energetic, or something more theatrical and immersive.

Why Holographic AI Matters for Branded Booth Experience

More and more often, we’re seeing holographic tech used not just for show, but as a core part of how brands create attention-worthy moments. For example, in January 2025, Samsung set up a 50-foot hologram in London’s Shoreditch to promote the Galaxy Unpacked launch. The scene with floating whales, auroras, and massive visuals lighting up the street quickly flooded across social media and landed in mainstream press, stretching the campaign far outside the corner where it happened.

Now scale that idea down to booth level – same principle, different stage. In the dense, overstimulated space of an exhibition hall, where every booth promises innovation, a life-sized three-dimensional expo AI presence sparks interest within seconds. Instead of looping the same message, a full-body holographic avatar appears actively present: it watches, reacts, and speaks. It shifts posture, might turn to “look” at visitors passing by, or adjust the tone to match the crowd – in other words, it seems totally aware of its surroundings.

People naturally stop, not just for the technology itself but because something at the booth feels alive. Something is unfolding there right now, and they want to be part of it. They pause, listen, and start engaging. And by the time your staff steps in, guests are already informed, curious, and more likely to connect (and carry that story beyond your booth).

In Practice: How AI Avatars Improve Visitor Interaction at Trade Shows

Visual appeal is only half the story. Adding a generative AI booth avatar to your expo presence isn’t just about having a cool gadget – it serves practical roles that elevate visitor engagement. Once the interaction begins, its real strength becomes evident in how it draws people in and keeps them involved. Here are some of the key ways companies are using AI avatars at trade shows and expos, along with real examples of their impact:

• Greeting and Attracting Visitors: Positioned at the booth entrance, an AI avatar can proactively greet people as they pass by. A friendly “Hello! Are you enjoying the expo?” in a human-like voice can surprise and draw in attendees who might otherwise walk past. The novelty of a talking holographic greeter almost instinctively turns heads. Attendees often stop out of curiosity, giving your team an opening to start a conversation.

  In fact, reports from recent events indicate that these interactive holograms act as magnets for attention – people are far more likely to pause at a booth with a life-sized virtual person, increasing initial foot traffic to your stand. The “wow factor” here isn’t just for show; it directly translates into more eyeballs on your products.

• Consistent FAQ Assistance: As soon as visitors arrive, the AI avatar shines as an always-on booth concierge. It effortlessly handles common questions, from broad ones like “What does your company do?” to specifics like “Can you tell me about the new model X?”, delivering clear and consistent answers every time. Unlike human staff, the avatar never tires or strays off-script, so that each visitor hears the key points you want to get across with unwavering enthusiasm and zero drop in quality.

  Moreover, it also offers multilingual support right out of the box. If a guest approaches speaking Spanish or Mandarin, the AI avatar instantly switches languages and greets them fluently in their native tongue. This level of personalized multilingual communication is tough (and costly) to achieve with human staff alone. By removing language barriers, the avatar makes your booth more inclusive and welcoming to international attendees – a major advantage at global expos.

• Product Demos and Storytelling: AI avatars can act as dynamic presenters and product demonstrators – essentially, virtual brand ambassadors who know your offerings inside and out. They might introduce product videos, project high-quality product images, or display other marketing materials while narrating the story, effectively guiding a mini demo along the way.

  Because the avatar can react to audience input, these demos become genuine two-way experiences. For example, at a tech showcase, an avatar might ask, “Would you like to see how the smart sensor works?” and, upon a “yes,” launch an animation or gesture toward the device. This turns a passive product display into an engaging dialogue.

• Lead Generation and Data Capture: Beyond engagement, booth AI avatars can actively assist in collecting leads, valuable data, and commerce-related insights. During a conversation, they might offer to send materials or schedule a demo, capturing the visitor’s contact details on the spot via touchscreen or connected device.
  Many advanced setups also integrate with badge scanners and CRM systems, enabling the avatar to log interactions, record attendee preferences, and automatically compile a ready-to-use lead list, all with full data security. This smart workflow ensures no interested prospect slips away in the expo rush, while your team stays focused on building personal connections instead of manual data entry.

  In effect, the avatar plays the role of your first salesperson: informing, gauging interest, and passing high-potential leads to your human team for closing. Exhibitors adopting this AI-driven approach often report not only more leads but better-qualified ones, thanks to the context-rich data captured during each interaction.

• Entertainment and Memorability: Let’s not overlook the pure experiential value. Having a full-body holographic AI character at your booth creates instant buzz. It signals that your company is innovative and forward-thinking, which rubs off on how people perceive your brand. Attendees often take photos or videos of the avatar to share on social media (hey, free publicity!).
  The entertainment factor – whether it’s an avatar cracking a light joke or delivering a short product pitch with dynamic visuals – gives people a reason to remember your booth. This memorability can pay off later, when those prospects are making buying decisions or talking with colleagues about what they saw at the show. The brand recall from an AI avatar encounter tends to be much stronger.

Real-World Generative AI Booth Use Cases

In practice, booth AI setups with holographic AI avatars are already showing up across a variety of event formats. Depending on the context and audience, their roles can vary, being tailored to the booth’s goals and the tone of the expo:

• Product launches: An avatar can unveil a new product with a polished intro and then pivot into live Q&A for curious visitors, balancing showmanship with substance.
• Investor expos: Companies use AI avatars to deliver clear, compliant investment pitches that remain consistent across time slots, languages, and markets.
• Tech and innovation fairs: Startups use avatars to present complex solutions in simplified terms and in an interactive manner, making their value proposition easier to grasp and more likely to get press attention.
• Global expos: Multi-language avatars handle live translation on the spot, switching fluidly between English, Spanish, Mandarin, and other languages, helping booths feel more inclusive.
• Cultural and design expos: Avatars act as narrators or stylized hosts, telling a brand’s story in an immersive way that fits the visual and thematic mood of the event.

Setup Instructions: How to Get a Holographic AI Avatar Running at Your Booth

Bringing a holographic AI avatar to life at a trade show or AI expo hall isn’t just plug-and-play, but it’s not rocket science either. It comes down to getting three things right: the right hardware, the right software, and solid preparation.

What Makes an AI Booth Avatar Work

So how does a holographic booth AI avatar actually come together? What looks like a smooth and cohesive single presence is, in effect, a combination of distinct parts, each doing its job to keep the illusion running.

• 3D avatar design – This is the digital face of the booth. A realistic human or stylized character built to match your company’s tone, whether that means refined and understated or bold and eye-catching.
• AI logic – This is the avatar’s brain. Dialogue flows, prompts, or live integrations that define how the avatar speaks, explains, and guides. The system can be fully pre-scripted for control or set up for real-time dialogue powered by generative artificial intelligence.
• Projection hardware – This is what makes the magic visible. A holobox, a large-scale holowall, or another interactive display unit that brings the avatar inside your booth as a walk-up presence, with no AR glasses or extra gear needed.

Together, these layers create the effect of a realistic life-sized booth AI host who never gets tired, always speaks on cue, and keeps working while everyone else takes a coffee break.

Creating & Deploying an Expo-Ready AI Avatar

The heart of your booth AI setup is the platform that creates and animates the avatar. RAVATAR’s Genesis AI Avatar Studio is one example of a platform developed for this purpose, allowing you to build 3D avatars, customize their look, voice, and behavior, and then deploy them directly to a holographic display. Whether you’re using Genesis Studio or another solution, the setup process tends to follow a similar path:

1. Design the Avatar

Start by picking a visual style. This might be a sleek digital human, a stylized character, or something themed, like a quirky robot concierge or a historical figure. Most platforms provide base models you can tweak to match your brand: hair, outfit, logo placement, and everything else you need to make it yours.

At RAVATAR, we offer our users both ready-to-use avatars and the option to request a fully custom character, designed from scratch to reflect your brand while feeling authentic and approachable to your target audience:

2. Add Voice and Language Support

Next comes the voice. You’ll need to select a tone that fits your audience, such as friendly, confident, or playful, and set up language options. Many avatar services support multiple languages out of the box and can switch between them dynamically based on user input. 

If you’re using Genesis Studio, you can also launch a custom voice from your ElevenLabs account, making your avatar feel even more like a true brand rep:

3. Feed It the Right Content

This is where you teach the avatar what to say. Load in key info like company intros, product details, marketing materials, FAQs, or other key resources. Whether your setup is fully scripted or powered by generative AI, the goal is the same: make sure it can deliver your message clearly and stay on-brand.

Here’s a quick tip from our team: Genesis Studio lets you connect your custom LLM to your AI avatar, so it can pull responses from the knowledge and tone you’ve already built into your model:

4. Integrate AI Logic

If you’re using a platform like Genesis, much of the heavy AI lifting (speech recognition, language understanding, response generation) is handled behind the scenes. Your part is tuning how the avatar behaves: for example, by assigning it a Role it’s meant to fulfill (say, AI presenter or Brand Ambassador) and editing the role text prompt to clearly describe its function, interaction style, and purpose:

Alternatively, you can hand off the AI logic to a third-party agentic service like OpenAI Realtime, Google Gemini Live, ElevenLabs Conversational AI, or others. RAVATAR’s AI Avatar platform makes this easy too, with built-in support for connecting external AI agents using just an API key:
 

5. Test and Fine-Tune

Once the avatar has a voice and brain, it’s time for dry runs. Ask real questions, review the responses, tweak the tone, and make sure gestures and timing come across natural for verification before launch. Catching rough edges now means smoother performance on the floor.

For that purpose, the Genesis Studio provides built-in testing tools such as Avatar Preview Display, which lets you talk with your avatar in real-time just as your AI booth visitors will during the live launch.

6. Run it on the Booth Display

When everything’s ready, deploy the avatar to your holobox or projection system. With Genesis, this step couldn’t be simpler – the Studio provides a direct link you can open on the holographic display to start the avatar holobox streaming.

Whichever setup you use, it’s a good idea to do a full run-through a few hours before the expo opens. Set up the microphone, check lighting and internet connectivity, adjust audio levels, and make sure everything operates smoothly before proceeding to public demonstration.

ROI Instead of Final Words: Measurable Impact of Booth AI Avatars

So is it worth it? Investing in full-body holographic AI avatars may seem like a premium choice, but the payoff is surprisingly tangible. Here’s how companies and marketers are seeing real returns from putting a holographic AI avatar at the center of their expo setup:

• You get more foot traffic, because the visual hit of holographic projection naturally draws people in and inspires action. That means more visitors, more engagement, and ultimately more leads – not just curious glances, but real prospects.
• You get better, qualified conversations, because the avatar handles introductions, FAQs, and product walk-throughs, freeing your staff to focus on deeper discussions with decision-makers instead of repeating the same lines a hundred times a day.
• You get a pitch that always lands, because your message stays clear and consistent without fatigue or human error, no matter if it’s the first visitor of the day or the hundredth.
• You get a tool that travels, because once an avatar is built, it can be updated with new scripts and reused across events, saving both budget and production time as your calendar fills up.
• And maybe most importantly, you get a perception shift. A booth with a holographic AI presence signals a company’s forward-thinking attitude, influencing how partners, investors, and customers size up your brand.

In the end, the ROI of a trade show AI avatar can be summarized as more visitors, better engagements, and a lasting impression – a formula any marketer can appreciate. At some point, your AI representative stops being a feature and just becomes part of the booth. No flashing banner will say it’s working. But if people slow down, lean in, and stay longer to experience more, that’s your proof. You’ve done it right.

Need a holographic AI presence at your own expo booth?

At RAVATAR, we build custom holographic AI avatars from the ground up – fully tailored, fully managed, connected to your own knowledge base, and configured to deliver your message the way you need it. The flow’s simple: you bring the story, we bring the tech. And if you need the hardware too, we can help arrange holoboxes and displays, available for both rent and purchase. All you have to do is drop into our Contact Us inbox.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is an AI booth avatar?

An AI booth avatar is a lifelike digital character powered by generative AI and displayed in 3D using the holographic projection hardware. At trade shows and AI expo halls, it is used to interact with attendees in real-time, answer questions, present products, and encourage visitors to explore your booth.

2. How does a generative AI booth avatar help attract more visitors?

A generative AI booth avatar instantly stands out in a crowded expo hall and naturally draws attention. Visitors notice the life-sized, humanlike figure speaking and responding in real-time and stop to check it out. That extra curiosity brings more traffic, longer dwell time, and smoother openings for your team to start real conversations. Real-world expo data also confirms that booths featuring full-body AI avatars see higher visitor flow and keep people interested well past the first impression.

3. What are the business benefits of using a holographic AI avatar at events or trade shows?

Beyond naturally increased foot traffic, key benefits of holographic AI at your booth include consistent messaging, multilingual dialogue support, and stronger brand perception. Avatars can also assist with lead capture and streamline staff workflows, keeping the booth active and responsive while your team handles deeper discussions.

4. Can I customize the appearance and voice of a booth AI avatar to match my brand?

Sure. The level of customization depends on how deep you want to go. In Genesis AI Avatar Studio, you’ll find fully ready-to-use visual avatar templates that can be launched instantly for immediate use at your booth. The platform also provides Google Text-to-Speech technology with default voices out of the box, offering natural speech across multiple supported languages. And if you’re after something more distinct, you can link your own ElevenLabs voices directly from your account.

Meanwhile, for brands seeking a completely bespoke experience, our team can build a fully-tailored AI avatar from scratch, designed around your visual identity, tone of voice, and engagement style. This ensures brand consistency and keeps your presence recognizable across different events and audiences.

5. How do I teach the event avatar with my company’s information?

You can feed the avatar your company’s content, such as product sheets, pitch lines, FAQs, or other key materials, directly during setup via the customizable AI avatar role prompt. This data works together with the large language model you select, allowing the avatar to respond contextually and stay aligned with your company’s messaging.

For more advanced setups, you can connect your avatar to a custom large language model that’s already trained on your company knowledge base. In Genesis AI Avatar Studio, this connection is established by simply adding the appropriate LLM’s API key in the avatar configuration.

In both cases, the built-in generative AI will use that data to craft natural, brand-aligned replies that adapt smoothly to each visitor’s input.

6. Can an AI booth avatar handle multiple languages?

Yes. With Genesis AI Avatar Studio, you can select the languages your avatar will speak during setup. The platform supports dozens of languages out of the box, each with its own fluent, natural-sounding Google Text-to-Speech voice. The avatar can also automatically recognize the language a visitor uses and continue the exchange accordingly, creating a smooth, inclusive experience for international audiences and keeping conversations effortless throughout the event.

7. What hardware is needed to run a holographic avatar at an event?

To run a holographic AI avatar, you’ll need a compatible display such as a holobox or large-format holowall. These units use optical projection and layered transparency to create the illusion of a 3D human figure that appears to stand and speak inside the booth. No AR glasses or special equipment are required; just power, internet, and enough space for the setup.

If needed, RAVATAR can help with renting or purchasing suitable holographic hardware, making sure the installation fits your event format and venue.

8. How long does it take to create an AI booth avatar for an expo or trade show?

With Genesis AI Avatar Studio, creating an avatar from default templates takes only a few minutes, offering unmatched speed and convenience for on-site event preparation, while light customization (such as fine-tuning a role prompt, connecting your own LLM, or linking a custom ElevenLabs voice) may require up to a few hours in total.

When it comes to a fully custom avatar built to your specifications, the timeline depends on the project’s scope and complexity. A basic proof of concept can be ready in about a week or two, while a production-ready version with refined visuals and advanced behavior typically needs a few more weeks to complete.

9. How can I reuse the same AI booth avatar across multiple events?

Once your AI avatar is created, you can easily reuse it across different events, booth setups, and even websites. Before each show, the avatar can be refreshed with new scripts, updated product information, or adjusted dialogue to fit the event’s theme and audience. You can also connect it to an updated knowledge base or new language configuration if required, with no time-consuming developments or deep tech expertise required.

Reusing the same avatar brings several advantages. It helps maintain visual and tonal consistency across your event appearances, strengthens brand recognition, and reduces both preparation time and production costs. You already have a functioning, event-ready digital presence, and all that’s needed is a quick content update before each show.

10. What does a holographic AI avatar cost for a generative AI booth?

The price of a holographic booth AI avatar depends on whether you use Genesis AI Avatar Studio with predesigned avatar templates or order a fully custom-built avatar.

Within the Studio, the cost is defined by the selected subscription plan, each offering a different number of included interaction minutes. All plans except Starter support direct avatar streaming to a booth holographic display. You can view the details on all subscription options on the Pricing Plans page.

If you’re commissioning a fully custom holographic AI avatar, pricing starts at around €5,000 for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) prototype. The final cost depends on the project scope, level of customization, and any additional features you may require, such as voice cloning, tailored animations, custom LLM training, own knowledge base integration, and more.

RAVATAR can also assist with renting or purchasing holographic display hardware, with pricing tailored to the size and setup required for your event.