> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.convai.com/api-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.convai.com/api-docs/plugins-and-integrations/convai-unity-sdk/embodiment/gaze/configure-eye-contact.md).

# Configure eye contact

Configure how strongly a Convai character commits to eye contact with the player, from natural behavior to a permanent lock.

Configure how strongly a Convai character commits to the player's eye contact by setting `GazeEyeContactMode`, `GazeFocusFidelity`, and the player anchor aim mode on `ConvaiGazeController`. Use this page when the default per-state behavior is too soft for a presenter or kiosk character, or when a character needs to look at something other than the main camera.

### Prerequisites

* A character with `ConvaiGazeController` added — see [Gaze quick start](/api-docs/plugins-and-integrations/convai-unity-sdk/embodiment/gaze/quick-start.md).

### Choose an eye contact mode

The **Eye Contact** dropdown in the `ConvaiGazeController` Inspector's Targeting section is the product-level switch for how strongly the character commits to the player. Set it there, or at runtime through `gaze.EyeContactMode`:

| Mode                | Behavior in conversational states                                                                                                                                  | Behavior while `Idle`                                             | Use for                                                                                                |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `Natural` (default) | Follows the profile's per-dialogue-state policy table — authored, varied engagement.                                                                               | Ambient life; the player is not a valid target.                   | Characters with an authored personality that should look natural, not fixed.                           |
| `SpeakingFocus`     | Commits fully to the player only while the character is actually producing speech or the dialogue state is `Speaking`. Listening and thinking stay profile-driven. | Ambient life; the player is not a valid target.                   | Presenters and dialogue NPCs that should focus while talking but behave naturally otherwise.           |
| `ConversationLock`  | Full commitment — engagement at maximum, no intentional look-away, full head participation, body turns allowed — in every non-`Idle` state.                        | Ambient life; the player is not a valid target.                   | A character that must never look away mid-conversation, but still has idle life between conversations. |
| `AlwaysLock`        | Full commitment, same as `ConversationLock`.                                                                                                                       | Full commitment — the player is a valid target even while `Idle`. | Kiosk greeters and demo booths that should never look away.                                            |

```csharp
ConvaiGazeController gaze = GetComponent<ConvaiGazeController>();
gaze.EyeContactMode = GazeEyeContactMode.ConversationLock;
```

Changing `EyeContactMode` at runtime ramps smoothly to the new commitment level rather than snapping.

{% hint style="warning" %}
While `ConversationLock` or `AlwaysLock` is active, the profile's per-state policy table is bypassed for engagement and aversion. If you want natural thinking-aversion and speaking-planning breaks, stay on `Natural` or use `SpeakingFocus` instead.
{% endhint %}

An eye-contact lock also overrides `AttendToSpeaker` (the **Attend To Speaker** setting that turns a character toward whoever else holds the floor in a multi-character conversation): while `ConversationLock` or `AlwaysLock` is active, the character never turns away to follow another speaker's turn, regardless of what **Attend To Speaker** is set to. The lock is a promise to keep looking at the player, and it wins. See [Conversation attention](/api-docs/plugins-and-integrations/convai-unity-sdk/embodiment/gaze/profile-reference.md#conversation-attention).

### Set focus fidelity

`GazeFocusFidelity` controls how precisely a `ConversationLock`, `AlwaysLock`, or `SpeakingFocus` commitment holds the player anchor, once one of those modes is active:

| Value              | Behavior                                                                                                                                                         |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Social` (default) | Keeps small fixation motion and socially useful head gestures while still treating the player as the conversational target. Recommended for dialogue characters. |
| `Exact`            | Suppresses intentional look-aways and fixation offsets while the focus is active. Blinks, eyelids, pupils, vergence, and anatomical body turns still play.       |

```csharp
gaze.FocusFidelity = GazeFocusFidelity.Social;
```

`Social` fidelity still allows an explicit `GazeAt()` request to preempt the lock, so a composed action that looks somewhere first and then acts keeps working. `Exact` fidelity rejects a scripted `GazeAt()` by default; enable `AllowScriptedOverridesDuringExactFocus` if an authored sequence needs to preempt it anyway. See [Scripted gaze](/api-docs/plugins-and-integrations/convai-unity-sdk/embodiment/gaze/scripted-gaze.md).

### Choose how the anchor is aimed

`GazeAnchorAimMode` controls where on the player anchor the character actually aims, independently of which eye contact mode is active:

| Value            | Behavior                                                                                                                        |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Auto` (default) | Uses a camera's exact position when the anchor is a camera, and applies the conventional eye-line lift for a non-camera anchor. |
| `ExactTransform` | Uses the anchor's exact world position, with no lift applied.                                                                   |
| `LocalOffset`    | Transforms `PlayerAnchorAimOffset` from anchor-local space to world space, so the aim point moves with the anchor.              |

Set the mode on `ConvaiGazeController` as `PlayerAnchorAimMode`, and set `PlayerAnchorAimOffset` when using `LocalOffset`. `LocalOffset` is recommended for a rotated custom anchor or an XR or cutscene rig, where `Auto`'s camera-position assumption does not apply.

For split-screen, multiplayer, or cutscene setups where the character should not follow `Camera.main`, set `PlayerAnchorOverride` to the transform it should treat as the player instead.

### Verify the setting

Enter Play mode and start a conversation. With `ConversationLock` or `AlwaysLock` set, the character should hold eye contact through every conversational beat with no look-away, and with `AlwaysLock` it should also hold contact while `Idle`. With `Natural` or `SpeakingFocus`, contact should visibly soften during `Thinking` and idle periods.

### Next steps

{% content-ref url="/pages/g9qN2LHADqPrumtNSGVx" %}
[Gaze profile reference](/api-docs/plugins-and-integrations/convai-unity-sdk/embodiment/gaze/profile-reference.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/k5F6dEGorM9KVWBpa8DX" %}
[Scripted gaze](/api-docs/plugins-and-integrations/convai-unity-sdk/embodiment/gaze/scripted-gaze.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/SiBBBcNs4k8tkQ9gtU4h" %}
[Troubleshoot gaze](/api-docs/plugins-and-integrations/convai-unity-sdk/embodiment/gaze/troubleshooting.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.convai.com/api-docs/plugins-and-integrations/convai-unity-sdk/embodiment/gaze/configure-eye-contact.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.