Aww Launches Interactive AI Agent HITO to Address Labor Shortages
HITO is a commercial product that packages virtual human technology as a labor replacement tool, aiming at a predicted 6.44 million worker shortage in Japan by 2030.
Reporting from 1 sources: ASCII.jp.
Aww Inc. began offering HITO, an interactive AI virtual human, on June 9, 2026. The service uses real-time voice AI for natural conversation, supporting up to 15 languages and designed to handle facility guidance and customer service. It targets labor shortages and inbound tourism needs across industries like transportation, hotels, and medical institutions.
Aww Inc. announced the launch of HITO, an interactive AI virtual human service, on June 9. The system uses speech recognition, a large language model, and text-to-speech to respond to visitors in as little as 0.85 seconds, with an average of one to two seconds. It supports Japanese, English, Chinese, and up to 12 additional languages, automatically detecting the visitor's language. HITO can be deployed across multiple locations with the same character design, allowing repeat interactions. The company cites a projected labor shortage of 6.44 million people in Japan by 2030 and a target of 60 million foreign visitors by the same year as the service's market context.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.