How to Make an AI Avatar of Yourself in 5 Easy Steps

Many of us remember the days of selecting our online chat or forum avatars. Nowadays, it’s all about AI avatars – and these digital characters are leaps and bounds ahead of the static images of the early 2000s.

But AI avatars have capabilities far beyond a static digital character. In fact, they can be used to improve the retention and engagement of your video content. 

Research shows that audiences view realistic-looking AI avatars as more trustworthy and preferable for lecture-style training – not to mention that AI avatars can simplify your video production process across the board. 

So how do you make an animated AI avatar to use in videos? We’ll walk you through the steps to customize an AI avatar in Colossyan and share tips on how to create videos using this helpful AI tool.

What is an AI avatar?

Simply put, an AI avatar is a digital representation of a real person. Creating one often requires uploading images or videos of yourself or another person. Then, AI technology creates an interactive, personalized presence that you can use in online videos, communication, and content. 

Not all AI-generated images are animated. AI algorithms can also analyze your photo to create 2D icons or 3D caricatures within a few seconds.

However, an animated avatar tends to be more realistic. It offers more customization options, including the ability to change facial features, expressions, hairstyles, behaviors, and more. You can even model avatars after yourself with programs like Colossyan’s custom avatar – including making your avatar speak just like you.

Many AI tools also offer a library of premade avatars that you can choose from. Sources for these premade avatar templates vary depending on the AI platform you use. For example, Colossyan creates its stock avatars using footage of human actors. 

There are numerous benefits to gain by using AI avatars: 

• Cost savings: You can reuse AI avatars in dozens of different videos at no additional cost, which makes them less expensive than human instructors.
• Personalized experience: AI avatars are more customizable than traditional actors, meaning you can personalize them with branded clothing, and even change their voice and accent according to your target audience. 
• Realistic interactions: AI avatars mimic human expressions, gestures, and body language to provide immersive, realistic interactions.

Learn more: Find out how companies use AI avatars to enhance learning experiences in our intro to AI avatars.

7 ways to use an AI version of yourself

Building an AI avatar of yourself isn’t just fun – it also supports and enhances a variety of projects. You can take advantage of this technology in the following ways:

1. Produce cost-effective training videos

AI presenters reduce training costs by allowing you to create multiple videos without expensive equipment, software, or actors. Additionally, you’re able to adapt the look and sound of your AI avatar depending on the audience you want to reach. 

This means you can create high-quality training video content without needing to pick up a camera or hire on-screen talent. Instead, opting for an AI avatar to serve as your instructor enables you to create content at scale. 

2. Simulate role-play situations

Thanks to their dynamic quality, AI avatars are perfect for simulating real-life scenarios. This allows trainees to role-play various skills that may otherwise be difficult to practice. 

For example, Colossyan offers a conversation mode which allows for dialogue between multiple avatars, paving the way for quality scenario-based training. 

One AI avatar might assume the role of a customer and another might serve as a customer service representative, showcasing the right communication and negotiation skills to exhibit in certain scenarios. 

Check out one of Colossyan’s conversation templates that can be adapted for your use case: 

3. Personalize learning experiences

With brand kits and the ability to add company branding to your avatar clothing, your AI avatar’s look and feel can be customized to match your brand voice and values. 

The personalization potential of AI avatars is a huge advantage when creating company-wide training materials. As we’ll explain later on, you can create videos using a custom avatar of one of your company executives, allowing your training materials to be delivered by a familiar face. 

Plus, AI avatars are highly customizable when it comes to accents and dialects. When creating training content for your London office, you can give your avatars a British accent, and switch their voice to an American accent when creating videos for your New York team, for example. 

Did you know? Colossyan's AI moves beyond machine learning and deep generative models by using neural rendering to create your AI twin.

4. Support customers

AI avatars are ideal for customer service as well. They can answer questions, walk viewers through product demos, narrate explainer videos, and provide additional customer education for your products or services. 

Of course, there are limits to the support that AI avatars can provide since they’re best equipped to help customers resolve simple issues. However, using avatars to create self-service customer service content can free up your human agents’ time to assist with more complex inquiries. 

5. Create multilingual content

The process of creating multilingual video content is typically very expensive. To create a video in five different languages, you’d need to reshoot your footage five different times, with five different actors who speak each language. 

Instead, you can easily reach employees and customers in their native languages with multilingual AI avatars. AI avatars can be translated into dozens of different languages in a few clicks, meaning you can make your content widely accessible in far less time. 

Plus, it’s a much more cost effective solution than outsourcing to a translation service. 

For example, Colossyan automatically translates your AI avatar’s speech into over 70 different languages, including Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese.

6. Provide on-demand support

Using AI avatars in videos is perfect for on-demand support and training. Because these videos are available at any time, employees can revisit training and receive instant responses to their questions. 

This makes AI avatars an especially excellent tool to help create an on-demand knowledge base with support documents, recommended resources, and feedback. 

7. Convert leads

AI avatars are perfect for product demonstrations and related product recommendations. Adding avatars to your AI-created videos can enable your sales and marketing teams to reach and convert more leads. 

Because of their realism, AI avatars add a human-like touch to these digital experiences. Plus, many AI video platforms have a screen recording feature, enabling you to easily showcase your product to leads. 

How to make an AI of yourself

While stock avatars are a great way to quickly get the ball rolling on your video content, custom avatars can bring the personalization of your videos to the next level. 

The process of creating a custom avatar can take anywhere from 2 to 15 days depending on the avatar quality and level of customization you’re looking for. 

But of course, waiting that long for a digital version of yourself – customized all the way down to your quirks and unique facial expressions – is worth it.

Here’s how to customize your own Colossyan avatar:

1. Choose your avatar quality

The first step to creating a custom avatar is deciding on the type of avatar that’s right for your videos. 

Colossyan offers two options: Studio, which is a professional-quality avatar, and Lite, a lower-budget avatar that you can record at home. 

Colossyan Studio Avatar: This high-quality digital representation of yourself comes in bubble, shoulder, and upper body views with the background removed. This type of avatar requires the footage to be shot in a professional studio. 

Colossyan Lite Avatar: A simpler version of the Studio Avatar, the Lite Avatar is available in bubble and shoulder views and maintains the original background from the footage you use to create it. You can shoot the footage using your laptop camera. 

2. Request your AI avatar

If you opt for a Studio Avatar, you can request your custom avatar and receive detailed instructions on what to do next. 

To request a Lite Avatar, sign in to your Colossyan account, navigate to the Avatars page, and click the plus sign to start recording.

3. Record AI training footage

Next, you’ll record yourself so the AI can customize your avatar based on your facial expressions, gestures, and characteristics. 

For those creating a Studio avatar, the Colossyan team will provide you with a document containing comprehensive filming instructions to ensure your footage is high quality for the best possible results. 

You may need specific recording equipment, depending on which type of AI avatar you choose. 

Studio Avatar recording equipment requirements:

• Good studio lighting
• A green screen or green backdrop
• A camera that shoots at 59.94 frames per second (FPS) or 60 FPS – preferably in 4K resolution
• A clip-on microphone and a boom microphone

Lite Avatar recording equipment requirements:

• A camera or webcam – at minimum, a 1 MP camera that records at 30 FPS and 720p resolution
• A microphone
• A neutral background (since this will still be visible behind your AI avatar)

Additionally, choose clothes that don’t blend into the background or green screen and avoid accessories or hairstyles that cover your face.

4. Customize your avatar’s voice

Colossyan offers dozens of different stock voices in over 70 languages that you can pair with your custom avatar. 

But if you want your custom avatar to sound like you, you’ll need to clone your voice. Fortunately, creating a custom voice is extremely easy in Colossyan, and it only takes five minutes. 

Here’s a bit more on how it works: 

Once your voice has been cloned, you’ll be able to translate your voice into dozens of different languages. How cool is that?

5. Wait for avatar creation

Once your Studio avatar footage is submitted, it will take anywhere from 10 to 15 business days to receive your final product. Lite Avatars take anywhere from two to three days. 

Once your AI avatar is ready, it will appear in your Colossyan avatar library. We only allow your custom avatars to be used by those who have your explicit consent to do so, so custom avatars are not available in the public library.

How to make a unique video with your AI avatar

Use these tips to create engaging videos featuring your AI avatar:

1. Keep videos short and sweet: Make a compelling point and avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information at once. We recommend keeping your video length to five minutes or less.
2. Customize your AI avatar: Avoid using generic avatars that viewers recognize from other sources, such as the Everywhere Girl, who appears in many stock photos. Look for ways to customize your avatar’s appearance, personality, and voice, as well as a platform that offers a wide variety of AI avatars.
3. Introduce your avatar: Don’t pretend like your avatar is a real person – be transparent and let viewers know that it’s an avatar. You can, however, remind viewers that a person wrote the script and modeled the expressions.
4. Don’t focus solely on your avatar: While it may seem like a good idea to keep the spotlight on your AI avatar, this can cause viewers to lose interest. Instead, make room to weave in animations, stock footage, and on-screen text as well to represent different points or topics.
5. Embrace your avatar’s versatility: Your AI avatar comes ready to record a variety of videos in dozens of languages. Its flexibility means that it can enhance product demos, customer education videos, employee training, and even virtual events.
6. Tell a story: Tell authentic stories that your audience finds relatable and then use your AI avatar’s mannerisms, gestures, and facial expressions to add life to those narratives. You can even write a video script that notes the actions you want your avatar to take during each scene.

5 types of videos best suited for AI avatars

Need some inspiration for incorporating AI avatars into your videos? Check out these ideas:

1. Short-form social media videos

Short-form videos boast a high level of engagement – viewers watch 30% of bite-sized video content at least 81% of the way through. AI avatars make it easy to add this type of engaging content to your marketing strategy while keeping costs low and your schedule open.

2. How-to and explainer videos

Use your AI avatar to walk viewers through various tasks. Your avatar can add a human touch to explainer videos, and you can also train it to provide automatic responses to common queries or issues.

3. Content repurposing

Use AI to convert your blog content into video and then add in your avatar. Doing so allows you to efficiently repurpose your content while maintaining a personal human touch.

Additionally, you can use your custom avatar to add a personalized message to your repurposed content, such as a product recommendation or additional resources.

4. Meetings and webinars

Not every meeting attendee wants to turn on their webcams, and many have a good reason to keep their screens dark. AI avatars can provide a compromise for uncomfortable employees. An employee can use their avatar to display body language and facial expressions, communicate more clearly, and maintain a semblance of presence.

Both Zoom and Microsoft Teams support the use of AI avatars during meetings.

5. Narrate unboxing videos

Unboxing videos are incredibly popular – in 2023, there were more than 25 billion views of YouTube videos with “unboxing” in the title. Pair this with the fact that videos convinced 82% of viewers to buy a product or service and you’ve got the recipe for skyrocketing conversions.

You can use your AI avatar to narrate on-screen next to a series of images as you “unbox” your product. This transforms a simple presentation into an interactive experience. Or if you prefer a more traditional live-action approach, your AI avatar can translate your unboxing video into multiple languages.

Create the perfect AI version of yourself with Colossyan

AI avatars are an effective way to personalize your content and create interactive videos. 

With Colossyan, you can choose from over 150 diverse AI avatars, all with different appearances, ages, and ethnicities. Or you can customize an avatar to look just like you – right down to your facial expressions – with Colossyan’s custom Studio and Lite Avatars.

Combined with interactive conversation features, automated translations, and a full-feature video editor, you can easily create engaging content with Colossyan.

Discover how AI avatars and cost-effective video creation can support your business needs – book a Colossyan demo today.