AI Avatars: surprisingly useful... for the right job
⏱️ Read time: ~2 min
For a while, AI avatars were everywhere.
Every demo seemed to feature a polished digital presenter speaking directly to camera. Then the hype quietened down. Not because the tools disappeared, but perhaps because most of us were left wondering: where would we actually use one?
Then, this summer, members of my AI Hive community asked whether we could run another session on avatars. It had been almost two years since our last session on avatar, which is roughly three centuries in AI time.
So we decided to dedicate a session to avatars and see what's possible. Hands on, each on our own avatars.
One image, one short script, mixed feelings
We used HeyGen’s image-to-avatar feature. The premise is simple: upload a photo, add a short script, and the tool turns it into a speaking video.
The results were surprisingly convincing, and occasionally a little uncanny.
We quickly learned that the source image matters. A clear, front-facing photo of one person works far better than a casual group shot or a picture where someone is half-hidden behind a colleague, a coffee cup, or an ambitious houseplant. Don't have a good image at hand? Snap a selfie, give it to OpenAI's Image 2.0 and tell it how you want it tweaked. It's an extra step well worth your time.
Can do ≠ should do
We also explored voice cloning, different visual styles, and more complex scenes. That is where the most useful conversation began.
The question was not, “Can this tool make a convincing avatar?” It clearly can.
The real question we kept coming back to was: Should an avatar deliver this message?
Our emerging rule of thumb: avatars can be a good fit for repeatable, factual, one-to-many communication. Think onboarding guidance, process explanations, tool instructions, event FAQs, or multilingual updates.
On the other hand, avatars should not be used as a shortcut for what should be delivered by a real person. Sensitive feedback, individual performance conversations, difficult news, or anything that calls for empathy and accountability should stay human. I personally feel very strongly about that.
But hey, avatars are fun and well worth the experiment if you have a few moments.
If you're up for a little avatar experiment, have fun!
Elena
