Startup company Synthesia recently announced a major update to its platform, which focuses on assisting businesses in creating professional-level AI videos. This update aims to provide businesses with a comprehensive suite of tools to accelerate their communication plans using videos as a medium.

This update, officially named Synthesia 2.0, introduces several core features, including full-body virtual avatars capable of performing a range of actions and interactive video experiences. This experience allows users to create AI videos with interactive elements that users can engage with, such as calendars or tables. Additionally, Synthesia has also launched a new AI screen recorder, designed to simplify the process of creating instructional videos for employees and other content.

Synthesia has been continuously introducing new features since the release of its emotionally expressive virtual avatars. However, it is important to note that not all features will be immediately available. Some features are planned for release next month, while others will be gradually rolled out over the next few months.

Enhancing Business Communication

In 2017, a group of AI researchers and entrepreneurs from Stanford University, Technical University of Munich, and Cambridge University came together to establish Synthesia. Their goal was clear: to provide businesses with a fast method to transition from monotonous text content to more engaging and compelling video content. Over the years, they have developed an end-to-end platform where businesses can create custom AI voices and virtual avatars (even choosing from existing voices and avatars) and combine them with pre-written or AI-generated scripts to generate AI videos.

Today, Synthesia is adopted by over 55,000 businesses, including Zoom, Dupont, Heineken, and Electrolux. The company has also significantly improved its AI virtual avatars, making them more realistic and emotionally expressive. Recently, the company introduced the new Express-1 model, enabling virtual avatars to understand the context and emotions in the text and change their tone and facial expressions to convey the message.

With the latest update, the company continues to strive for advancements in virtual avatars. Essentially, to enhance the narrative of digital characters, the company is expanding their range of actions. This will strengthen the personality of virtual avatars, allowing them to utilize various forms of body language, including hand gestures, to tell captivating stories.

According to Synthesia's Product Marketing Director, Dan-Vlad Cobasneanu, the improved virtual avatars are the result of training multiple large-scale video and audio base models by capturing data from thousands of people worldwide. He adds that these virtual avatars will also be fully controllable: users will be able to specify the appearance of the avatars using images and videos and create animations using skeleton sequences.

However, this is just one part of the virtual avatar upgrade.

Synthesia has also improved the way users create personal AI virtual avatars by allowing them to use webcams or mobile cameras with natural backgrounds. CEO Victor Riparbelli states that this is particularly useful when users want to present a more authentic side, such as when teaching a course. The recorded personal virtual avatars will have better lip synchronization, more natural voices, and the ability to translate speech into over 30 languages.

Interactive AI Videos

While the improved virtual avatars enhance the presentation of content, the new interactive video player built by Synthesia will change the way content is consumed. Users will be able to integrate various clickable hotspots into their content, allowing the end audience to click and take action. For example, they can click on an element to fill out a form, open a calendar/quiz, or jump to a specific section of the video they are interested in.

Although this feature will take some time to be fully rolled out, the demo video showcases the ability to enable interactivity and define the flow of clickable experiences. The company highlights that the first feature to debut in the interactive experience suite will be the ability to change the video language and display content in the desired language.

It is worth mentioning that Synthesia has also added an AI screen recorder. Initially, this feature will function like a regular screen recorder, capturing everything happening on the screen. Once the recording stops, the company's underlying models will generate a professional AI video, including the speaker's audio and audio transcription. Users can then edit it, add their virtual avatars, and apply automatic zoom effects to emphasize key actions. If needed, they can even edit the script to update the content.

What other new features does Synthesia 2.0 offer?

In addition to the aforementioned features, Synthesia 2.0 includes several progressive improvements, such as the addition of a brand kit (to incorporate a company's brand language and identity into videos) and the ability to generate content in bulk using the company's AI video assistant.

Furthermore, there will be new collaboration features that allow multiple users to work on video projects simultaneously, as well as an improved one-click translation experience where users only need to create and maintain one version of the video. The translation will be automatically completed and updated.

It will be interesting to see how these new features drive the adoption of Synthesia. The company has always focused on providing services to businesses through a consent-driven, review-driven, and collaborative approach. Other players competing in this field include Deepbrain AI, Rephrase, and HeyGen.