Embodiment can enhance conversational agents, such as increasing their perceived presence. This is typically achieved through visual representations of a virtual body; however, visual modalities are not always available, such as when users interact with agents using headphones or display-less glasses. In this work, we explore auditory embodiment. By introducing auditory cues of bodily presence - through spatially localized voice and situated Foley audio from environmental interactions - we investigate how audio alone can convey embodiment and influence perceptions of a conversational agent. We conducted a 2 (spatialization: monaural vs. spatialized) x 2 (Foley: none vs. Foley) within-subjects study, where participants (n=24) engaged in conversations with agents. Our results show that spatialization and Foley increase co-presence, but reduce users' perceptions of the agent's attention and other social attributes.
@article{arxiv.2601.22082,
title = {Auditorily Embodied Conversational Agents: Effects of Spatialization and Situated Audio Cues on Presence and Social Perception},
author = {Yi Fei Cheng and Jarod Bloch and Alexander Wang and Andrea Bianchi and Anusha Withana and Anhong Guo and Laurie M. Heller and David Lindlbauer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.22082},
year = {2026}
}