When developers think of conversational AI, Python usually takes the spotlight. It’s the language of research papers, TensorFlow tutorials, and every quick experiment you’ve ever seen on GitHub. But when the goal shifts from “let’s test this in a notebook” to “let’s run this at global scale in real time,” the story changes. That’s where Golang quietly steps in.
For Agora, a company that powers real-time voice, video, and AI-driven engagement, the choice of programming language was never about hype and trends but about demands of performance at scale.
Golang stood out as the preferred choice for real-time applications because it delivers high performance without the overhead of complex runtimes, said Rishi Raj Singh Ahluwalia, director of solution architecture & customer success at Agora, in an interaction with AIM.
Golang has also been a choice for companies like INDMoney for real-time data streaming.
From powering live classrooms and telehealth to building multilingual chatbots in India’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities, Golang has emerged as a preferred tool in Agora’s stack.
Why Golang, Not Python (or Node, or Java)
Ahluwalia noted that the language stands apart when compared with others. “Python is excellent for experimentation and definitely has a strong AI ecosystem. But it sometimes struggles with concurrency under heavy load,” he said.
Node.js is strong at asynchronous input-output, but its single-threaded model can sometimes become a bottleneck, he said, adding that Java has been a powerhouse, but its heavier runtime and verbose syntax can slow down iteration cycles.
By contrast, Golang “strikes the perfect balance.” Ahluwalia mentioned that with its goroutines and channel-based concurrency models, Golang simplifies the efficient management of a vast number of simultaneous connections.
It also boasts low memory consumption, rapid compilation, and a garbage collector optimised for minimal latency.
Ahluwalia provided some usage examples for Golang at Agora, highlighting that many of Agora’s backend services, including signalling and networking, are already built on Golang.
When it comes to encouraging developers to use Golang, the company publishes documentation and guides that help the community build low-latency and scalable services.
He said, “For us, Golang isn’t just another language option. It’s the backbone of how Agora builds and scales its real-time infrastructure.”
At the same time, Ahluwalia pointed out that no single language dominates. “We still use React for many of our services, and provide developer guides for all those languages as well.”
“It definitely needs to be a stack of multiple languages rather than a dependency on one,” he said.
Building for Developers, Not Just Applications
What matters just as much, according to Ahluwalia, is how accessible the technology is. “What truly sets Agora’s SDKs and APIs apart is their unparalleled developer-centric design that transforms complexity into simplicity and enabling rapid innovation.”
Their goal is to offer maximum capability with minimum complexity to developers, he added.
The company also supports integration across web, iOS, Android, and frameworks such as React Native, Flutter, Electron, and Unity. On the infrastructure side, the company runs its own ultra-low latency network across 250 points of presence.
“Agora guarantees crystal-clear, uninterrupted experiences, even in challenging network conditions, with built-in optimisations like adaptive bitrate and dynamic channel switching,” he said.
For Indian developers, the challenges often revolve around affordability, multilingualism, and scale. He elaborated that in Indian environments, particularly within the telecom sector, operations must function efficiently under low bandwidth conditions, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
He also observed startups leveraging Agora to develop multilingual conversational bots, AI tutors that adjust to individual student learning paces, and even astrological and mental health platforms where users can interact with AI avatars.
Ahluwalia said that the entry process is designed to be simple as the company provides a console on the Agora platform, where developers can sign up, create multiple projects, and monitor billing – all within the console.
He explained that within the console, a redirection link leads to the documentation website, offering access to SDK downloads and Agora APIs, creating a seamless journey for developers.
On conversational AI, he explained that the real-time audio from Agora channels is sent to ASR engines for transcription. The transcribed text then goes to a large language model, and its output is converted into natural-sounding speech by Text-to-Speech (TTS). This synthesised response is streamed back to the user via the Agora channel, achieving minimal latency, potentially as low as 650 milliseconds in optimal conditions.
The Road Ahead
Looking forward, Ahluwalia sees the sector shifting rapidly. “Real-time engagement is going to transform from utility to intelligence,” he said, adding, “We want developers to focus on experiences, not infrastructure.”
Today, the focus is on making conversations happen; tomorrow’s systems may become context-aware assistants capable of reasoning, translation, and personalisation at scale.
The post Why Agora Bets on Golang for Real-Time AI appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.
