Operations

Podcast mode

Two characters, one topic, a real conversation — and you deciding which viewer question gets asked.

In podcast mode two of your characters talk to each other rather than to a visitor. One opens the show and asks the first question, the other answers and asks something back, and they keep going — reacting, disagreeing mildly, making jokes — around a topic you set. You sit in the console and steer: hand a viewer's question to whichever host should field it, drop in a sponsor read, or stop the show.

Podcast console with host setup on the left, live transcript in the middle and viewer comments on the right
The podcast console: setup on the left, the live conversation in the middle, viewer comments on the right.
Podcast mode needs two hosts already running. Both characters must be live in a podcast-capable Unreal build, each connected with its own character ID, before you press Start. If nothing is connected you will be told the host could not be found and the show will not begin.

Setting up the show

FieldWhat to put in it
Host AThe one who opens the show. Viewer comments are collected against this character, so point your comment bridge at Host A.
Host BThe partner. Naturally, they cannot be the same character.
TopicOne line — "artificial intelligence in education", "this week in football".
Notes / sub-topicsBullet points you want covered, the tone you want, anything to avoid.
RulesInstructions pinned into both hosts on every single turn. Use this for the hard constraints: "never mention competitors", "keep it under two minutes per answer".

Pressing Start hands Host A an opening brief — the topic, your notes, and a tone instruction to talk like a real podcast rather than read a list — and asks it to welcome the listeners and put the first question to its partner. The badge flips to ON AIR and the two of them take it from there.

Your setup is remembered in this browser, so leaving the page and coming back does not lose it. The on-air state, however, comes from the server — so if you close the laptop mid-show, the show carries on.

Running the show

Viewer questions are yours to choose

This is the important difference from a normal live stream: nothing is answered automatically. Comments arrive and wait. You pick the good ones and press 🎙 Host A or 🎙 Host B to hand that question to that host, who reads it into the conversation on their next turn.

That is deliberate. A two-host show falls apart if it stops every fifteen seconds to read "hi from Turkey". Choosing three good questions an hour makes a far better programme.

ControlWhat it does
🎙 Host A / 🎙 Host BHands that comment to that host.
Skip / DeleteClears the noise out of your list.
Freeze / OpenCloses comment intake during a segment you don't want interrupted.
Test composerPost a comment yourself to check the flow before the audience arrives.

Making a host say something exactly

The Say verbatim box takes a line of text and two buttons — one per host. The chosen host speaks it word for word, without the AI rewriting it. Sponsor reads, corrections, and the "we'll be right back" all go through here.

Watching it happen

The middle column is the merged transcript of both hosts, Host A on the left, Host B on the right, updating every couple of seconds while you are on air. It is also the fastest way to notice a show drifting off topic — at which point a line in Rules and a restart puts it back.

Ending the show

Press Stop. Both hosts leave podcast mode and the badge returns to OFF AIR.

Always press Stop at the end. While a show is on air the automatic comment answering is suspended — that is what stops the hosts reading every arriving comment mid-discussion. If the show is left on air, that suspension stays in place; if the on-air state is lost without a proper stop, the hosts can start reading comments on their own. Either way, pressing Stop resolves it.

Broadcasting it

Exactly as with a normal live stream: IAMX produces the conversation, your encoder produces the broadcast. Capture the window your two hosts are rendered in with OBS, add the audio, and stream to the platform. See Going live for the full setup, including the TikTok comment bridge — point it at Host A.

When something goes wrong

What you seeWhat it means
"Host not connected" when you press StartThat character has no running renderer, or the build is not the podcast-capable one.
The badge says ON AIR but nothing is happeningThe start message never reached a host. Press Stop, check both hosts are running, and start again.
A host reads every viewer comment by itselfThe show lost its on-air state. Press Stop, then start the show again.
Comments are never readWorking as intended — only the ones you assign are read.
The transcript is emptyThe hosts have not said anything yet, or they are not actually connected.
Your setup vanishedSetup lives in the browser you typed it into. A different browser or a cleared cache starts fresh.

Where to go next

Single-character streaming

Going live →

Tune how they speak

Identity & voice →