At Meta Connect 2024, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the company's new AI-powered video avatars that allow creators to generate realistic digital versions of themselves.
AI avatars were first announced at Connect 2023, and have been available for creators since Meta launched its AI Studio platform in the US this past July. However, up until now, creator avatars could only interact with fans via text. Now they will be able to engage in voice conversations with fans across Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
In a live demo, artist and author Don Allen Stevenson III joined Zuckerberg on stage to showcase a video avatar of himself answering questions about his creative process, and highlighting the potential for creators to scale their audience interactions.
Stevenson's avatar's speech patterns and lip synchronization still needed a bit more work, but it was a very convicing and impressive replica. The AI handled questions fluidly and knew when content was outside of its area of expertise. Meta says it plans to begin testing these video avatars with users next year.
To be clear, Meta is not breaking any new ground here. Similar, more capable offerings are available from platforms like HeyGen and Synthesia. However, Meta's approach targets creators specifically and will be natively integrated across its products.
It will be interesting to see the response from creators and fans, especially given the lukewarm response to Meta's previous celebrity AI avatars, which have since been discontinued.