Hiring Without Hiring: Aww, Producer of Virtual Humans, Launches Interactive AI Agent "HITO"

Aww Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) will launch its interactive AI virtual human "HITO (Hito)" on June 9, 2026.

HITO allows virtual humans to converse naturally with visitors in real-time using AI, handling tasks such as facility guidance, multilingual customer service, and answering frequently asked questions. Its visual appearance and speaking style can be designed to match a brand, enabling it to serve as the "face" of a company, facility, or brand.

Under the concept of "increasing your team without hiring," HITO aims to be introduced in a wide range of industries, including transportation, hotels, commercial facilities, and medical institutions, as a new option to address chronic labor shortages and the surge in inbound tourism.

◻︎ Service Site: HITO.aww.tokyo

■ Development Background

Japan is projected to face a labor shortage of 6.44 million people by 2030 (PERSOL Research Institute), with the service industry alone expected to be short by approximately 4 million people. Meanwhile, the number of inbound foreign tourists is targeted to reach 60 million by 2030, up from approximately 42.68 million in 2025 (Japan National Tourism Organization target), indicating a rapidly expanding need for inbound tourism support.

Mid-career recruitment costs an average of 3.72 million yen, and the turnover rate within three years for the accommodation and food service industries is about 30% (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare "2024 Employment Trend Survey"). The structural issue of employees not staying after being hired has accumulated in many workplaces. HITO was developed with the idea of "an AI agent that continues to work in place of people" to address these situations.

Market Challenges

■ What is HITO?

Service Features

HITO is a service that enables natural voice conversations with AI through a virtual human. When a visitor speaks, ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition), LLM (Large Language Model), and TTS (Text-to-Speech) work in conjunction, responding in as little as 0.85 seconds, with an average response time of 1-2 seconds. It provides accurate guidance based on pre-registered facility information, product knowledge, and FAQs. It supports up to 15 languages, including Japanese, English, and Chinese, automatically detecting the visitor's language and responding accordingly.

Four Key Features of HITO

What differentiates HITO from chatbots is that it "has a face." By deploying the same character in multiple locations, visitors recognize "it's this person again," and can interact with them repeatedly without psychological barriers.

Furthermore, all conversations are automatically accumulated as data. By accumulating real customer insights on "when, what, in what language, and how they asked," HITO serves not only as an operational tool but also as a foundation for conversational data to train proprietary AI for the future.

Designing Visuals and Personality to Create a Brand's Face

What sets HITO apart from mere AI tools is its ability to design the very personality of a brand. Aww has previously planned, produced, and developed virtual humans for corporate brands both domestically and internationally, including Disney, KDDI, Ranmai Technology, and PlanB. Leveraging the expertise gained from creating and operating its own virtual influencer "imma," Aww designs the personality from scratch – including appearance, expressions, speaking style, and character traits – to embody the brand.

Example of reception at a hotel

Service Overview

Service Name: HITO (Hito)

Supported Languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (up to 15 languages available)

Character Plans: Rental / Semi-Order / Full-Order (3 plans)

Inquiries: https://hito.aww.tokyo/contact

Discount campaigns and trial usage are also available for applications received by the end of August.

■ HITO Service Overview Briefing Session

HITO Service Overview Briefing Session

For those interested in HITO but who would like to first understand the overview, we will hold an online service overview briefing session.

We will clearly explain HITO's basic functions, use cases, and implementationイメージ.

Please apply from the page below.

Date & Time: ① June 15, 2026 (Monday) 16:00-17:00 / ② June 18, 2026 (Thursday) 12:00-13:00

Format: Online

Target Audience: Those facing challenges with reception, guidance, FAQ handling, multilingual support, etc., and those seeking information for implementation consideration.

Application: Please register via Luma. (Application name will not be disclosed)

① 6/15 https://luma.com/hx5aztnl / ② 6/18 https://luma.com/j40n7md1

■ About Aww Inc.

Aww Inc. is a virtual human AI company that plans and develops content utilizing virtual humans and AI. The company handles the planning and operation of multiple virtual humans such as imma, MIRAI, plusticboy, and Ria, and develops its business by combining 3DCG, AI, and unique production capabilities.

In recent years, Aww has been developing interactive AI virtual humans for various applications including customer service, education, and tourism by combining technologies such as ASR, LLM, and TTS with its proprietary CG models.

Company Name: Aww Inc.
Location: Cerulean Tower 15F, 26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031

Representative: Takayuki Moriya

Business Activities: Virtual Human Production Business

Virtual Human AI Business

Website: https://aww.tokyo/

[Contact for Inquiries]

Aww Inc.

Public Relations: Sara Giusto

Mail: press@aww.tokyo

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