Both Klarna and Zoom have revealed their new earnings calls with the help of avatar-created AI in a forward-looking and somewhat surreal step that suggests that a huge shift to an AI-first approach to corporate branding is on the way.
Rather than executives in front of the stakeholders and reading line upon line off of teleprompters, or even speaking real-time, both companies decided to create digital doubles, extremely realistic avatars, trained on the voice, tone and speaking cadence of the executive, that led investors through financial performance, projections, and market strategy.
It is not all about the state of the art technology. It is a communication to both the shareholders and the overall citizens that these firms are all in on AI, not just a product, but an identity to their businesses.
🎙️ What Happened in These AI Earnings Calls?
Pre-recorded earnings call Presentations by digital avatars of the executives was offered by Swedish fintech giant Klarna and communication giant Zoom. To drive such avatars there were AI tools capable of:
- Cloning voices and mimicking tone
- Reproducing facial expressions and gestures
- Delivering scripted content in a natural, human-like way
- Seamlessly integrating into a polished, branded video presentation
The stakeholders were to see the apparently live executive, but he was not. It was truly hyper-real AI-tailored show, composed of video Synthesis, Voice Generation, LLM-assisted script writing.
🤖 Why Use AI Avatars for Earnings Calls?
There’s a mix of efficiency, branding, and bold experimentation behind this trend:
✅ Efficiency & Control
AI avatars allow companies to line up the monitor, idealise the tone, and avoid live mishaps. There is no need to take a perfect one, just stop the script, re-rendering and deliver.
🌐 AI-First Branding
Klarna and Zoom are becoming two companies of AI pioneers. Using AI on something as old school as an earnings call makes a very loud statement: We not only create AI – we live it.
🎯 Consistent Messaging
AI-enabled scriptwriting ensures that the message is unambiguous, legal, and brand-like – and that may be challenging to uphold when you bring the live Q&A pressure to the table.
🚀 What This Means for the Future of Corporate Communication
This could be the start of a larger trend. As AI avatars become more lifelike and conversational, we might see:
- 🤝 Virtual executives in live meetings
- 🎤 AI-led webinars or PR statements
- 📈 Automated investor relations content
- 📰 AI avatars answering live questions with LLM-generated responses
It also implies deeper meanings of transparency and ethics and also the perception of people. Will the stake holders be confident with an artificial CEO? Or is it going to mean sleeker, yet less human business fables?
Meanwhile, some companies like Klarna or Zoom are gambling on the premise that storytelling will be AI-enhanced soon, and the practice will be the determining factor to gain attention, reduce costs, and increase the impressions of being digitally apt.
🔗 Source
Source: evolving.ai via Instagram