TikTok unveils AI-generated avatars at Cannes Lions Festival

The news: TikTok is introducing AI-generated avatars for brands and creators to increase content production on the platform, as formally announced at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Monday.

• The new features, which we initially wrote about in April, include stock avatars (created with paid actors for commercial use by advertisers) and custom avatars (private avatars created for specific creators), which can be used to create hundreds of pieces of content in multiple languages.
• An AI dubbing tool can translate videos into over 30 languages as if the subject were speaking them natively.
• “We believe this technology has the potential to fuel the creator economy and offer new avenues for creators and marketers to scale their content globally,” TikTok’s Adrienne Lahens told our Jasmine Enberg at Cannes.

These tools are part of TikTok's Symphony suite, which also includes AI-powered script writing and video production assistance.

Will it work? The new tools—reflecting the growing trend of AI integration in social media—could significantly reduce the time and resources needed for content creation, especially for global campaigns.

• AI influencers, like Lil Miquela and Aitana Lopez, are already redefining creator marketing, and their content performs well on TikTok.
• That said, the AI avatars raises questions about authenticity and transparency in advertising, which TikTok aims to address through Symphony Collective, an advisory board with brands, agencies, and creators to help the platform set guidelines for responsible use of AI.
• While the technology offers new opportunities for brands and creators, it presents potential risks, such as the creation of deceptive deepfake content. A recent BBC report found TikTok’s algorithm promoted AI deepfakes and misleading political content, raising concerns about the platform's ability to moderate misinformation and its influence on younger voters.

Our take: These features may help TikTok compete with other platforms like YouTube and Meta, which have also been developing AI tools for creators and advertisers.

• Given TikTok’s regulatory issues in the US, the global reach that these tools enable could prove particularly valuable to the platform.