Digital Humans: How to Create Them (+14 Editable Examples)

By Kyle Odefey
Video Producer at Synthesia

Create AI videos with 240+ avatars in 160+ languages.

A digital human is a computer-generated representation of a person that is designed to look, move, and talk like a real human being.

The terms "digital human" and "AI avatar" tend to be used interchangeably, and in my opinion essentially mean the same thing.

Here's an example:

digital_human

In this post, I'm going to cover how digital humans work, where to use them, and how you can create one. I'll also give you a wide variety of examples that you can copy and use for whatever project you want.

How does the technology work?

Digital humans are typically made using AI-generated video, using two types of AI video generation.

Text-to-video

Digital humans use text-to-video technology to generate a video of an AI avatar performing a script that is inputted by the user.

Image-to-video

Digital humans use image-to-video in the creation process. The most common example of this is when a user wants to make a custom digital human that looks like them, which involves uploading a photo and the AI video model creating a digital human from the photo alone.

Where are digital humans used?

The digital human economy is projected to exceed $125 billion by 2035, but there's a wide range of use cases where digital humans are being deployed right now. Here are the most common:

Corporate training and enablement: Digital humans are widely used in video-based training, onboarding, SOP walkthroughs, and roleplay sessions.
Marketing: Digital humans are often used as presenters in explainer videos and in UGC-style performance marketing ads for social media.
Internal communications: Digital humans are increasingly used for internal communication videos including leadership updates, policy changes, and other company announcements.
Customer support: Digital humans can be used to scale self-serve customer support content like video knowledge bases and FAQ videos.
Localization: Digital humans can speak any language you want, so they have been found to be useful for translation and localization for global teams and customers.
Customer service: Digital humans that are real-time and interactive have found a use as front-line customer service agents that are always available and are powered with full access to the context of an organization's internal information.

What are the benefits of using digital humans?

Digital humans are popular because they can help to:

Build a connection: They give your audience a face to identify with and build a more personal connection, which can help establish trust, credibility, and authority — and ultimately improve information retention.
Improve comprehension: Significant amounts of information come from subtle cues in a person's facial expressions and body language. This additional information can help to reinforce the video's message to a viewer and can result in a more impactful video.
Increase engagement: A digital human gives your audience another reason to pay attention to your video script and narration, which can help keep your audience engaged and interested in the video.

Digital human examples

Synthesia is an AI video platform that offers a wide variety of digital human video templates powered by highly realistic AI avatars. The examples below are some of my favorite templates. If you see one you like, you can click Edit video template, sign up to Synthesia (for free), and then use the template to create your own digital human.

Jump to a digital human example

How do you make a digital human video?

Step 1: Go to Synthesia's AI video generator

Head to Synthesia's AI video generator.

Step 2: Select the Work tab

Select the Work tab. You can then enter a simple prompt or paste your video script to get started. You can also click File and upload your Word document, PDF, PowerPoint slides, or text file. When you're ready, hit Generate.

Step 3: Sign up to Synthesia for free

Step 4: Outline your video

Next up is the outlining stage. Synthesia will then analyze the content and break it into logical scenes that make up your video. You'll now see an overview of all of your video's scenes that you can review and adjust as you see fit. You can also edit the script of each scene.

Step 5: Edit your video

Now it's time to edit your video. In Synthesia's editor you can review your scenes, refine each scene's script, and add digital humans (avatars), B-roll, motion graphics, and screen recordings.

Pro tips that make the difference

Focus each scene on one idea to make information easier to retain.
Mix up your visuals with avatars, slides, images, and charts to keep viewers engaged.
Consider accessibility by using high-contrast colors and clear fonts.
Design for mobile first and keep text short so it fits cleanly on small screens.

Choose a digital human and voice

Click Avatar at the top of the editor to add an AI avatar to your video. Synthesia offers a wide variety of stock avatars as well as the option to create a custom avatar from a prompt or an image.

Add screen recordings

Click Record to use Synthesia's AI screen recorder. I mostly use these for product tutorials and software training videos, and I'll typically pair my screen recording with an AI avatar.

Add B-roll

Click Media to add B-roll to your video. You can generate these video clips using an AI video model. B-roll is great for breaking up long narrative-driven sections of your video and helps to keep your video visually engaging.

Step 6: Generate your video

Click Generate in the top-right corner to create your video. You can then download your video as an MP4, get a shareable link, embed your video on a webpage, or download a SCORM version of your video and upload it to your LMS.

Step 7: Publish and share your video

The final step is to publish and share your video.

Frequently asked questions

What are digital humans?

A digital human is a computer-generated representation of a person that is designed to look, move, and talk like a real human being.

Where are digital humans used?

Here are the most common use cases of digital humans right now:

Corporate training and enablement: Digital humans are widely used in video-based training, onboarding, SOP walkthroughs, and roleplay sessions.
Marketing: Digital humans are often used as presenters in explainer videos and in UGC-style performance marketing ads for social media.
Internal communications: Digital humans are increasingly used for internal communication videos including leadership updates, policy changes, and other company announcements.
Customer support: Digital humans can be used to scale self-serve customer support content like video knowledge bases and FAQ support videos.
Localization: Digital humans can speak any language you want, so they have been found to be useful for translation and localization for global teams and customers.
Customer service: Digital humans that are real-time and interactive have found a use as front-line customer service agents that are always available and are powered with full access to the context of an organization's internal information.