TikTok is rolling out a tool that will allow brands to use AI-generated avatars of real people in ads on the platform.
The company plans to offer a set of “stock avatars” trained on the likenesses of paid actors licensed for commercial use. It will also allow advertisers to build custom avatars designed to look like a TikTok creator or a brand spokesperson but with multi-lingual capabilities. The company said it’s testing the feature with creators and will label ads built from the tool as AI-generated, it wrote in a blog post on June 17.
In a demonstration in the announcement post, the company showcased a reel of AI-generated avatars built from apparent TikTok creators who explain why they’ll benefit from an AI tool that uses their likenesses. The feature, Symphony Avatars, will “help brands and creators move faster, make more content, and reach more people,” one said.
The video also boasted that avatars could make content quickly, producing a product explainer in minutes, and speak multiple languages.
Some creators are nervous about generative AI
Of course, not all creators are sold on the idea of AI-generated influencers. Earlier this year, when an ad featuring an AI-generated avatar from marketing agency SelfMade went viral, some creators raised the alarm about what generative AI could mean for their livelihoods and the future of the creator industry.
“If this is something that caught on, I’d be very scared for the future of my business,” micro influencer Kristen Bousquet told Business Insider in May.
AI tools have been under fire across the broader creative industry as Hollywood writers and actors, music artists, journalists, and others consider whether letting artificial-intelligence platforms train on their work could ultimately lead to their displacement.
In its blog post, TikTok appeared to address some of the concerns around AI replacing creatives— at least on the brand side.
“TikTok Symphony is designed to enhance and amplify human imagination, not replace it,” the company wrote. “By handling the heavy lifting, it gives you and your team the freedom to focus on the strategic and empathetic aspects of your TikTok marketing.”
For influencers, the company is presenting Symphony Avatars as an opportunity to save time and scale their brand deals by lending their likenesses to global campaigns for brands in countries where they don’t speak the language.
The company also set up an industry advisory board for its AI program that includes some content creators and representatives from brands like American Eagle, Wendy’s, and the NBA. The board will serve as an “open forum for discussing the application and utilization of AI in creative marketing, as well as the industry at large,” the company wrote.
TikTok isn’t the only Big Tech platform experimenting with AI-generated avatars. Last year, Facebook owner Meta released AI chatbots featuring the likenesses of celebrities, including Tom Brady, Kendall Jenner, and YouTuber MrBeast. The company also offers a suite of generative-AI tools for advertisers to expand images, change their backgrounds, and test different text variations. Google, Microsoft, and Apple are all racing to introduce more generative-AI features in their products. Snapchat has its own AI chatbot for users dubbed My AI, though the company recently downplayed the role of AI on its platform in its NewFronts pitch to brands.
