[2023] Walking NPCs in the nodes & other locations: Have they been confirmed?

One of the things we all appreciate about MMORPGs is how important is to make the world feel alive and in constant motion. This means that it is essential to have different locations well populated so you can find players anywhere in the world. However, I think that this should not only be limited with the players themselves, but also with the NPCs. I think WoW does this very well. When you enter a city such as Stormwind, Iron Forge or Ogrimmar you can see a lot of NPCs there, not only standing in their places, but also walking around and having their own rutines, no matter how simple they are. Even if you log-in at a time when there are few players connected, you'll see that the city feels alive because of its NPCs. Moreover, you can also find NPCs across the world, in different outposts and locations, so everytime you go outside for an adventure you will come across with interesting characters to interact with. Another game that has achieved this is Black Dessert. One of the things I love about Black Dessert was how alive the world feels when you go out the cities and you see NPCs travelling on the roads transporting materials.
On the contrary, a game that hasn't achieved this is New World, where the last time I played I could barely see more than 10 NPCs per outpost, and all of them were standing there without moving, making the outpost look quite dead especially when they were empty of players. I think these are the two faces of the same coin when it comes to a very important concept in an MMORPG.

As far as Ashes of Creation is concerned, has it been confirmed that the nodes will be full of NPCs and that they will not only be standing in their places, but also will be able to move and make their "life" and routines inside their node? Will there only be NPCs in the nodes and cities or also across Verra?