Does Environment Matter? Conversational AI-based avatars in immersive and low-immersive virtual reality

In this context, XARA – an AI based conversation training app – was developed by afca.ag on behalf of the University St.Gallen. The training consists of three modules across three conversation topics – recruiting, conflict, and quitting – and is conducted in two virtual extended environments: an immersive virtual environment (IVE, using VR headsets) and a low-immersive virtual environment (L-IVE, using a standard computer setup). The training sessions are identical in interface and user experience design across both environments and allow participants to engage in adaptive learning conversations with AI-based avatars.

All participants complete the training in both IVE and L-IVE. Conversational competence is assessed repeatedly: at the beginning of the study and after each conversation training. This experimental design allows us to compare conversational competence across the two levels of immersion and to evaluate the training’s ecological validity. Measuring ecological validity is crucial to understanding whether these technologies create psychologically meaningful and transferable social learning experiences.