Back in 1968, The Beatles released "Yellow Submarine" – an animated musical film where cartoon versions of John, Paul, George, and Ringo took center stage while the actual band members only appeared briefly in a live-action cameo at the end.
In many ways, they popularised digital avatars standing in for real people.
Fast forward to 2025, and we're seeing something similar happen in the B2B SaaS – except now, instead of hand-drawn cartoons, we have AI-generated avatars delivering our messages. [Unless of course, you’re getting swept up in the ChatGPT Studio Ghibli frenzy!]
Today's AI avatars are sophisticated digital presenters that can help businesses create professional content at scale. Whether you're making product demos, training materials, or internal updates, these avatars are upping the ante on video creation.
Here’s a deep dive into everything I've learned in the trenches, talking to teams and testing these tools myself. You'll discover which AI avatar tools actually deliver results, when to use them (and crucially, when to stick with human presenters), and how to implement them in a way that feels genuine. And bonus: creative use cases for AI Avatars I’ve discovered along the way!
Here's what excites me most about AI avatars: We're moving way beyond the basic "talking head" videos.
Really, really quickly.
From Zoom's Eric Yuan predicting we'll send AI versions of ourselves to meetings in a few years to companies creating personalised celebrity endorsements with AI, the applications for AI avatars are growing faster than I can write this article.
But after hundreds of conversations with teams implementing these avatars, I've noticed some patterns for where avatars work when it comes to videos - and where they fall short. Let's break it down:
Marketing teams face relentless pressure to produce more video content across more channels with the same (or smaller) budgets. When you need to create consistent messaging that can be quickly updated or localized, AI avatars offer a compelling solution.
When they work:
Creative use case:
Create quick "pilot" versions of your marketing videos using AI avatars before investing in full production - be it with an influencer or with a paid actor. Use these test videos to get stakeholder buy-in, validate messaging, and gather feedback. Once approved, you can move forward more confidently with professional filming, reducing the risk of expensive rejected concepts or revisions.
When to avoid:
Subject matter experts and founders are notoriously time-constrained. Their knowledge needs to reach more people, but their calendars are packed. AI avatars help bridge this gap by scaling expert insights without demanding more of their limited time. This involves either creating personal AI avatars or ‘clones’, or using off-the-shelf avatars.
When they work:
Creative use case:
See how Varun Mayya, founder of Aeos Labs, created an AI avatar in his likeness to scale up his video content production.
When to avoid:
This reminds me of an intriguing case: Panasonic recently created an AI avatar of their founder, Konosuke Matsushita, who passed away in 1989. They trained the avatar on his speeches, writings, and dialogues to "pass on his philosophy to the next generation."
While the tech is impressive, this “digital resurrection” raises troubling questions about representation and authenticity. Not to mention how such content runs the risk of being emotionally distressing.
Product complexity continues to increase, but user patience for learning curves is dropping. CEd teams need to create comprehensive, consistent training that works across time zones and language barriers - without ballooning budgets. In the CEd context, we've had teams tell us that AI avatars are best suited for high-level, conceptual content rather than detailed product training. So think of them as your engaging storytellers, not your technical instructors.
When they work:
Creative use case:
Use multiple AI avatars having conversations for your product's "why" videos - explaining the problem you solve for users and how it helps with their day-to-day. For example, have one avatar play a frustrated user describing a common challenge, while another avatar explains how your product addresses it. This natural back-and-forth dialogue helps customers understand your value proposition before diving into the technical details.
When to avoid:
Pro tip: For detailed product demos, and tutorials/ training videos for CEd courses, skip the avatars and try Clueso instead. Our platform helps you create clear, focused product videos that put your interface front and center - exactly what users need when learning how to use your software to do their jobs better.
Creative use case:
Create engaging product walkthroughs using multiple AI avatars having natural conversations about features. For instance, one avatar could play a curious user discovering a new feature while another avatar explains its benefits and demonstrates proper usage. This conversational, natural back-and-forth dialogue helps customers understand concepts more intuitively.
When to avoid:
Remote and distributed teams need consistent information, but creating videos for every internal update is hardly feasible. AI avatars allow internal comms teams to produce professional video content without disrupting executives' schedules or requiring constant re-recording.
When they work:
Creative use case:
For HR teams, instead of spending hours creating individual quarterly reports, use AI avatars to deliver personalized updates. An AI presenter walks each department head through their specific metrics, achievements, and focus areas. It's like having a dedicated reporter for each team, but without the hassle of recording everything from scratch. Plus, when the next quarter rolls around, you can just update the numbers and scripts, and have fresh reports ready to go! Not to mention, every department gets the same consistent message, just tailored to their team's performance.
When to avoid:
I've spent countless hours testing various AI avatar tools. Here's my honest assessment:
Synthesia was one of the first major players in this space. I found it works best for straightforward, corporate communications where consistency matters more than creativity. Their avatars have improved significantly over time, but their custom AI clones still feel glitchy and lack some of the natural qualities of human presenters.
HeyGen's strength is creating videos that feel more dynamic and engaging. Their avatars have better facial expressions than most other alternatives, which helps when you need to convey some emotion. However, like all avatar tools, they still struggle with truly capturing human nuance.
VEED is more of a general video creation platform that includes AI avatars as one feature. This makes it versatile but the output is a lot less polished than dedicated avatar tools.
Descript takes a different approach, focusing on script-based editing where you can manipulate video by editing text. Their strength is in editing videos that feature actual humans, rather than creating photorealistic human avatars. In fact, this is something they explicitly call out. Descript does offer avatars, but they’re all stylized - think sketches, cartoons, and animated characters.
AI avatars bring powerful capabilities, but they also raise important ethical questions. The line between helpful tool and harmful deception can blur quickly.
In 2023, IESE Business School created an AI video using Synthesia avatars for an educational clip about AI itself. Shortly after, they were shocked to discover "their" avatar appearing in the news – being used to spread misinformation via bot accounts on Twitter and Facebook, a clear breach of Synthesia's terms of service.
This cautionary tale highlights why we need clear guidelines:
Our commitment to ethical AI at Clueso guides how we approach these technologies. We believe AI should enhance human creativity, not replace it.
Here are the key strategies for making the most of AI avatars when producing video content:
AI avatars perform best with natural language. Write how you speak, not how you read. Short sentences work better than complex ones. Think of it as writing for a real person – because ultimately, that's who will be watching.
Static talking heads get boring fast. Break up your avatar videos with:
Videos are powerful, but they work best when paired with written materials. Clueso’s one-click article generation feature can transform your video content into comprehensive help documentation automatically.
Use consistent avatar representatives across your content. This builds familiarity and trust. Incorporate your brand colors, logos, and messaging style into all avatar videos.
Don't assume how your audience will respond to avatars – ask them! Run small tests and gather feedback before deploying avatars widely.
One major advantage of AI avatars is the ability to update content without re-recording. When product features change, you can simply edit the script and regenerate the video, keeping your content fresh without starting from scratch.
AI avatars are a great option for creating talking-head style segments without filming real people. But there are times when your product needs to take center stage, and you need advanced screen captures or detailed workflow demos. Or maybe you don’t want to spend time writing scripts for your AI avatar to read.
With Clueso, you can transform simple screen recordings into polished, on-brand product videos and tutorials with minimal effort - no scripting or avatars. Curious about how to create professional videos without the hassle? Start your free trial now and see how Clueso can integrate into your workflow in under 15 minutes.
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