GuidesIntegrations

LiveAvatar (Beta)

Learn how to integrate ElevenAgents with HeyGen’s LiveAvatar for real-time avatar streaming

Overview

The LiveAvatar integration connects ElevenAgents with HeyGen’s LiveAvatar platform to create interactive avatar experiences. This integration combines ElevenLabs Agents (handling audio interactions) with LiveAvatar’s real-time avatar video streaming, enabling low-latency visual conversations with AI avatars.

With this integration you can:

  • Deploy conversational AI agents with visual avatar representation
  • Create interactive customer service experiences with lifelike avatars
  • Build engaging virtual assistants for websites and applications

This integration is currently in beta. For the latest updates, refer to the LiveAvatar documentation.

How it works

The integration uses LiveAvatar’s LITE session mode where responsibilities are divided between the two platforms:

  • ElevenLabs: Handles the streaming and orchestration of audio input and output
  • LiveAvatar: Manages avatar rendering and real-time video streaming

When a LITE mode session starts with an ElevenAgents configuration, LiveAvatar dispatches a worker that connects to your ElevenLabs agent. The agent’s audio output drives the avatar’s lip sync and animations in real-time.

Prerequisites

Before setting up the integration, ensure you have:

  1. An ElevenLabs account with API access
  2. A HeyGen LiveAvatar account with API access
  3. An ElevenLabs agent (create one following the quickstart guide)

The ElevenLabs Agent needs to have audio input and output formats set to PCM 24000 Hz. This can be set in Voice settings > TTS output formats, and Advanced > User input audio format.

Setup

1

Obtain your ElevenLabs credentials

You need two items from your ElevenLabs account:

  1. Agent ID: Navigate to Agents Platform > Agents and copy the ID of the agent you want to use

  2. API Key: Go to Settings > API Keys and generate a new API key (or use an existing one)

The API key needs to have convai_read, user_read, and voices_read permissions.

2

Register your ElevenLabs API key with LiveAvatar

LiveAvatar requires your ElevenLabs API key to be registered through their secrets endpoint. This registration encrypts your key using Amazon KMS and returns a secret_id for use in sessions.

Make a POST request to LiveAvatar’s secrets endpoint:

$curl -X POST "https://api.liveavatar.com/v1/secrets" \
>  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
>  -H "X-Api-Key: <your_heygen_api_key>" \
>  -d '{
>    "secret_type": "ELEVENLABS_API_KEY",
>    "secret_value": "<your_secret_value>",
>    "secret_name": "<your_secret_name>"
>  }'

The response contains your secret_id. Store this secret_id for use when starting sessions.

3

Start a LiveAvatar session

When starting a LiveAvatar session, use LITE mode and include your ElevenAgents configuration:

1{
2  "mode": "LITE",
3  "elevenlabs_agent_config": {
4    "secret_id": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
5    "agent_id": "agent_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
6  },
7  "avatar_id": "xxxxx"
8}

Refer to the LiveAvatar session API documentation for complete details on session management.

Events and callbacks

The integration delivers events through LiveKit rooms, using the same event structure as LiveAvatar’s FULL mode. This allows you to:

  • Monitor conversation state changes
  • Track agent speaking and listening modes
  • Handle connection and disconnection events
  • Process transcriptions and agent responses

Configure your event handlers according to the LiveAvatar events documentation.

Billing

This integration involves separate billing from both platforms:

ComponentBilling
LiveAvatar (avatar video)1 credit per session minute
ElevenLabs (conversational AI)Billed to your ElevenLabs account based on your subscription plan

The avatar streaming is billed only for the video component, while all agents usage (audio and LLM) is charged separately through your ElevenLabs account.

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