Marketers balance creepiness and realism as more AI-generated avatars come online

The uncanny valley refers to an unease or negative response (that creepy vibe) we feel when encountering something that seems almost human — but it feels off. Think early forms of generative AI-designed avatars that look like a real person, but has no eye movement, or a digital representation that looks exactly like an influencer, but is lacking natural movement or features.

If the avatar isn’t received well by the audience, there is a risk of coming off as “inauthentic and superficial,” said Joseph Perello, CEO of creator marketing platform Props.

Currently brands and creators are still testing out using chatbots and other avatars for campaigns, customer support and social media — as they fine tune how to monetize them. Much like augmented reality or metaverse experiments, we’ve seen marketers question the use cases and revenue opportunities.

With AI, experts also acknowledge there remains a delicate balance between making people feel uncomfortable and creating enough realism or engagement to captivate them. Some companies are already making money off of avatars and bots — even though they are not immune to controversy and brand safety issues.

“I think virtual influencers are already working,” said Amy Luca, global head of social at Monks. “Virtual influencers and moderated groups are already building audiences that can be monetized.”

Yet there’s a growing business case for using these artificial avatars: Imagine not having to manage individual talent or incurring costs in generating dozens of campaigns. Marketers could theoretically have total control over the creator and client needs.

“[Our AIs] emulate the relatability of a trusted friend, tailoring recommendations to each user’s unique preferences, such as hobbies, allergies, and local favorites,” said Veronica Lin, head of brand and strategy at PalUp, a new social platform for AI and humans to connect.

Some popular avatars already have a growing fanbase, including virtual influencer Aitana Lopez, a fitness and gaming enthusiast from Spain, and Japanese influencer Imma, who also sports a pink bob cut. The Spanish agency that created Lopez reported that she made up to $11,000 a month at one point. But it remains to be seen where Imma’s career will go from there.

Earlier this year, TikTok announced plans to introduce AI-generated avatars for brands and creators at Cannes Lions. Even brands, creators and agencies alike are testing these avatars across training and education, social content and enterprise use cases, such as Publicis using AI video generator HeyGen to create 100,000 customized thank you messages to employees.

“We are crossing the uncanny valley,” because it is harder to tell between real humans and their avatars, said Adam Halper, core product manager at HeyGen.

Founded in 2020, HeyGen offers a few products to individualize, like creators and brands, and enterprise users to create video avatars, which can produce “a digital twin” and clone your voice, virtual avatars made using a prompt or interactive avatars, which can engage with people based off of whatever knowledge you give it, Halper explained. These take minutes to create dozens of pieces of content with a single avatar, and enterprise and individual creators use them in a wide range of applications, from fitness training to educational and internal videos.

But Halper acknowledges that the platform’s voice cloning function could improve, as it is one of the main complaints they get from users feeling like the avatar doesn’t sound like them or comes across as “monotone.” HeyGen is also working on other features to give users more flexibility to control poses and outfits of their avatars. However, audio has been uniquely challenged for AI as technology is still trying to get voices right.

However, Perello also thinks it remains to be seen whether younger generations gravitate toward these AI avatars in the long run. “These digital creations, though technically impressive, often lack the genuine human connection that resonates with audiences … and particularly Gen Z are adept at spotting artifice and prefer genuine content from real people.”

As such, the other approach of using virtual avatars that look more cartoon can work too — thereby avoiding the uncanny valley altogether. Some of the popular VTubers, or virtual YouTubers, are online creators that generate tens of thousands of views on average, per Statista. Some of them are also active on streaming platforms, like Twitch and Kick. One of the biggest VTubers, Japanese channel Miko is another pink-haired character created by Hololive Productions, a Japanese virtual YouTube agency.

Motoaki Tanigo, CEO of Japanese entertainment company Cover Corporation, which operates Hololive, describes VTubers as “[combining] the character and the personality of the person behind them … VTubers are more like real-life content compared to fictional content like anime or games.”

Perhaps, then, the trick is finding the right blend of visuals, sounds and editing to achieve the desired effect of an avatar, whether that’s an alien with a person’s voice or a life-like human AI that sounds like a robot with a German accent — with neon pink hair, of course.