AppDirect is purchasing AI avatar technology provider Soul Machines, a transaction that will integrate interactive avatars into its Devs.ai platform and broaden the AI capabilities accessible to its advisors, partners, and customers. The acquisition targets businesses looking to move beyond text-only AI and implement more interactive experiences across sales, service, support, commerce, and employee workflows. Soul Machines' technology will allow AppDirect to offer more engaging interfaces for AI-driven interactions, helping organizations build digital experiences that are easier for customers and workers to use.
Soul Machines' avatar technology will soon be integrated into Devs.ai—AppDirect's AI platform for building and managing business AI tools—creating new methods for advisors and customers to launch branded AI applications without the complexity of constructing core infrastructure from the ground up. Any user will then be able to deploy a fully functioning interactive avatar to any project they use internally or launch externally. Potential applications for Soul Machines' avatars include customer support and self-service, learning and development, onboarding and training, employee help desks, and digital commerce assistance. For AppDirect's advisor ecosystem, the acquisition expands the types of AI solutions partners can deliver to customers without needing to build the underlying technology themselves.
"Soul Machines helps us take the next step in making AI more useful and more accessible for businesses," said Nicolas Desmarais, Chairman and CEO of AppDirect. "Companies are no longer asking whether they should adopt AI; they're asking how to put it to work in ways that improve customer engagement, support employees, and drive real business outcomes." According to Chris Herd, General Manager at Soul Machines, the next wave of enterprise AI will be shaped not only by what the technology can accomplish, but by how people experience it. Desmarais added that embedding Soul Machines' avatar technology into the AppDirect platform will help advisors and their customers move faster from experimentation to real-world deployment.
Soul Machines' customers will gain access to AppDirect's broader platform, including new integrations, go-to-market opportunities, and enterprise AI capabilities through Devs.ai. By embedding Soul Machines into Devs.ai, AppDirect is positioning interactive AI avatars as another deployable capability partners can incorporate into customer and employee workflows. The deal reflects a growing recognition that businesses need simpler paths from AI pilots to full deployment—particularly for interactive technologies that require specialized expertise most companies don't have in-house. AppDirect's approach removes that barrier, letting partners offer avatar-based experiences as part of their service portfolio without investing in the core technology themselves. For businesses already navigating how to make AI more practical and user-friendly, interactive avatars represent a tangible step beyond chatbots and text interfaces—one that doesn't require starting from scratch. The companies and advisors that can bundle avatar technology into existing workflows will likely have an edge as organizations look for AI tools that employees and customers will actually use. That shift from "whether" to "how" on AI adoption isn't just rhetoric—it's reshaping which capabilities matter most in the market.