Israel rolls out pilot for students to learn with conversational avatar companions

Israel will serve as a testing ground for the rollout of a nationwide pilot program aimed at improving students’ learning skills with the help of affordable one-on-one tutoring by artificial intelligence avatars that mimic human private tutors.

Israeli startup eSelf — a developer of a platform creating interactive, digital, face-to-face conversational avatars — has partnered with the Center for Educational Technology (CET) — Israel’s largest K-12 textbook publisher — to introduce a personalized AI tutoring system for students across the country.

CET, also known as Matach, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of Israel’s education system. It operates various online platforms providing learning materials and digital solutions to millions of students nationwide across all subjects and grade levels.

Starting in May, eSelf’s personalized AI tutoring system will be deployed via CET’s Ofek online learning platform. As part of the pilot program, Harvard University will serve as an academic adviser, guiding the methodology and evaluation to assess the educational impact of eSelf’s AI tutor.

“We’re partnering with eSelf to provide a personal AI tutor to every student in Israel,” said CET’s VP of Marketing Tzachi Langer. “This partnership is just the first step in making AI a truly accessible tool for students nationwide, increasing educational equity and empowering Israel’s children to feel more confident in their academic capabilities and potential.”

As part of the pilot program, students will have access to a private AI digital tutor inside and outside the classroom.  Powered by natural conversational speech, the interactive avatar is designed to serve as a face-to-face virtual learning companion that speaks and responds directly to students’ questions in real time and generates images and videos to accompany lessons.

The avatars are multilingual, but the pilot will begin with Hebrew language instruction and will initially cover a range of subjects, including math, language and literature. The use of the AI tutors will be payable with a monthly subscription at a fraction of the cost of a private tutor, according to eSelf.

The startup’s platform lets users create customized AI video personas – both in appearance and personality – to engage students through fluid natural voice conversations and real-time visuals, similar to online tutoring sessions or private tutoring.

The conversational avatar can also adapt to each student’s individual learning strengths and challenges and offer personalized guidance, the startup said.

The initiative comes amid a shortage of qualified teachers in the country and as Israeli students have in recent years scored below the majority of OECD countries in core subjects such as mathematics, science, and reading.

“Education is one of the strongest predictors of future opportunity – yet access to quality support remains deeply unequal, at a time when it’s more critical than ever,” said Victor Pereira, Faculty and Co-Chair of the Teaching Leadership program at Harvard University. “The partnership between eSelf, CET, and Harvard University creates an unprecedented opportunity to bridge socioeconomic gaps – giving every student a virtual tutor, no matter their background.”

“This is precisely how AI should be integrated into education: not as a replacement for human educators, but as a powerful supplement that extends learning and promotes independence,” Pereira added.

Serial entrepreneur Dr. Alan Bekker and Elon Shoshan co-founded eSelf in 2023 to develop an AI platform for face-to-face communication between humans and machines. Users create and personalize their own avatars through an intuitive online studio that supports over 30 languages that can be deployed across industries from education, finance, to e-commerce. Bekker previously co-founded Voca.ai, acquired by Snap Inc. in 2020 for $70 million.

“eSelf is making history as the first AI tutoring initiative to be deployed at a national scale,” said CEO Bekker. “It’s an effort that shows how AI can be used for good – leveling the playing field and supporting students at a time when the education system worldwide is under immense strain.”