"Maybe your husband can pick up the kids today."
For many managers, it is an innocent remark, made with good intentions and without a second thought. But what if the employee sitting across the table is in a relationship with another woman? What if assumptions hidden inside everyday workplace conversations quietly exclude people without anyone realizing it?
That is the type of situation Kaltura's new Equality avatar was built to address.
Launched as part of Pride Month activities, Equality is an AI-powered avatar designed to engage employees and managers in conversations about inclusion, belonging and unconscious assumptions that often appear in workplace interactions. Through real-life workplace scenarios, it encourages users to reflect on habits and assumptions they may not even realize they are making.
One scenario involves a manager discussing a relocation opportunity and automatically assuming an employee would need to "convince his wife" before accepting the role, when the employee may actually be in a relationship with another man. The goal is not to catch people making mistakes, but to help them recognize how language, habits and assumptions can shape the experience of others.
But Equality also reflects a broader question that organizations are beginning to face as AI avatars become more common in workplaces.
As AI avatars begin to appear in employee communications, training programs, customer experiences and support environments, organizations are starting to ask new questions. If a digital character represents a company, how should it look? How should it speak? And what values, perspectives and experiences should help shape it?
Questions of representation are becoming part of the conversation as well. If digital managers and experts are consistently presented as men while support and service roles are presented as women, organizations may unintentionally reflect existing assumptions in new technological environments. As AI avatars become more common, questions that once focused mainly on people are increasingly becoming part of how organizations design digital experiences.
The discussion is particularly relevant as organizations begin using a new generation of conversational AI systems designed not only to provide information, but to interact with people in a more natural and personalized way.
Kaltura, long known for its enterprise video platform, has been expanding its focus toward conversational digital experiences built around AI-powered interactions rather than passive content consumption.
The company describes this new generation of digital characters as Agentic Avatars - interactive AI-powered avatars designed to hold conversations, understand context and respond in real time.
For Kaltura, Equality is one example of how these technologies are moving beyond customer interactions and into employee experiences.
The initiative comes shortly after Kaltura received the Gold Badge from LGBTWORK, awarded to organizations that demonstrate a long-term commitment to creating inclusive workplaces through policies, recruitment practices, leadership training and organizational culture.
"The recognition from LGBTWORK is meaningful because it reflects a culture we have been building for years," said Sigal Srur, Kaltura's CHRO and Chairwoman of the nonprofit organization Shavot. "We want people to feel comfortable being themselves at work and bringing their perspectives, experiences and voices into what they do. As AI becomes part of everyday workplace experiences, it is important that those values are reflected in the digital experiences organizations create. Equality was designed to help people have those conversations in an open, practical and accessible way."
"The Gold Badge reflects a deep commitment to the wellbeing, safety and equal rights of LGBTQ employees," said Sari Yerushalmi, CEO of LGBTWORK. "Kaltura promotes inclusion through organizational policies, internal initiatives and a culture that creates room for different voices. The recognition reflects not only high standards, but also a willingness to help move the entire industry forward."
As AI avatars become more common in workplaces, classrooms, customer support systems and digital experiences, organizations may find that building a digital representative involves more than technology. It also requires deciding what kind of organization that representative speaks for.