How to add a 3D companion to your browser

Adding a 3D companion to Chrome used to mean hunting down a standalone app, wrestling with drivers, and hoping it did not slow your machine to a crawl. In 2026 it is far simpler: a browser extension puts a full 3D avatar — voice, animations and all — into your tab in under a minute. This guide walks through the whole setup, from installing the extension to importing your own VRM model and turning on live voice.

What you'll need

Very little. You need Google Chrome (or a Chromium-based browser that supports extensions), and that is essentially it. Everything renders client-side, so there is no separate program, no account required to start, and no API key unless you later opt into a premium voice. If you want to use a custom character, have a .vrm file ready — but the built-in avatars work out of the box, so this is optional.

Step 1: Install the extension

Open the Chrome Web Store and add Pascual Companion. When Chrome asks, confirm the install, then click the puzzle-piece icon in your toolbar and pin the extension so it is always one click away.

The nice part: it initiates instantly with zero configuration. There is no onboarding wizard to slog through — the avatar appears and is ready to talk right away. You can leave every setting at its default and start using it, then tweak things later.

Step 2: Choose where the avatar appears

A companion is only useful if it sits where you want it. Pascual Companion gives you two placement modes, and it is worth knowing both.

In-tab overlay

By default the avatar renders as an overlay on the page you are viewing. This keeps the character in context — it can comment alongside a video or help with the article in front of you. Great for a single-tab workflow.

PiP / Overlay mode (stays on top)

If you want a true desktop mascot browser experience where the character never disappears, enable PiP mode. Using Chrome's Document Picture-in-Picture API, the companion detaches into a floating window that stays on top of everything — your editor, a movie, a document — even as you switch tabs. This is the closest thing to a classic always-on-screen desktop pet, without leaving the browser.

Step 3: Add your own avatar (optional)

The built-in characters are ready immediately, but the fun really starts when you make the companion yours. Open the Avatar Studio and you can drag and drop any standard .vrm character file — both version 0.x and 1.0 are supported, so popular community models work — plus .vrma animation clips for custom dances and gestures.

From the studio you can also:

• Pick one of five UI skins — Aurora, Midnight, Ember, Mint or Noir — and set custom theme colours.
• Adjust hair and eye colours, and control the avatar's mood and expressions.
• Preview movements, look-at targets and facial expressions live in the 3D renderer before you commit.

Because this is all local, your model and settings stay in your own Chrome profile.

Step 4: Turn on live voice and lip-sync

Text chat works instantly, but voice is what makes the companion feel present. In settings you can choose from four speech engines:

• Web Speech — offline, built into the browser.
• Piper Local — high-quality voice that runs 100% offline via WASM.
• OpenAI — premium expressive voices.
• ElevenLabs — premium, including cloned voices.

Whichever you pick, the avatar's mouth movements sync in real time with the audio, so speech looks like it is coming from the character. You can test each voice side by side in the studio to dial in the right speed and pitch. For talking back, enable Hands-Free mode — local voice activity detection lets you converse without clicking — or use Push-to-Talk if you prefer a key press.

Step 5: Make it useful day to day

With the basics in place, switch on the features that fit how you work. Turn on screen-context tracking so the assistant can react to your active tab, let long-term memory recall your name and preferences across chats, and try the built-in SoundCloud player — ask for a track by voice and watch the avatar dance to the beat. None of this needs extra setup; it is all inside the same extension window.

A quick word on privacy

Before you pour personal context into any assistant, check where it goes. With Pascual Companion, all chat history, local databases and models stay client-side in your Chrome profile, requests go straight to your configured AI providers, and nothing is shared with Pascual Labs. The full details are in the Privacy Policy.

The bottom line

Installing a 3D companion in your browser is now a one-minute job: add the extension, pick where the avatar sits, optionally import a VRM model, and switch on a voice. From there it scales with you — a simple chat buddy on day one, a customised, voice-driven, always-on-top assistant whenever you want more. Ready to try it? Add Pascual Companion to Chrome — it's free.