New in Labs: AI Avatars

AI Avatars is in active development as part of Labs. Functionality will evolve, and we may modify or remove certain features based on user feedback and stability. To access this feature, make sure it’s turned on in Labs, and AI Assistant is enabled.

Creating videos the old-fashioned way—recording, editing, and then re-recording as content changes—slows down course development and makes it harder to keep lessons consistent. Now, with AI Avatars in Rise 360, you can turn your scripts into presenter-style videos using a customizable character. Creating, updating, and reusing video content has never been easier! Keep reading to see how it works.

• Understand AI Avatars
• Generate AI Avatars
• Get Better Results with These Tips
• Usage and Credits FAQs
• Share Your Feedback

Looking to create AI Avatars in Storyline 360? Learn how in this Labs post.

Understand AI Avatars

AI Avatars work best for short, presenter-style videos. Lesson introductions, transitions, and key takeaways can all benefit from a consistent voice and presence to guide learners through content.

Create your own character or choose from a library of photorealistic and illustrated characters. You can filter by style, gender, age, or environment and customize your chosen character through a simple chat interface.

While the AI Avatars feature is included in your Articulate 360 AI subscription, generating AI avatar videos uses credits. (Learn how credits work.) You’ll be able to see how many credits you need before you generate.

Note: Credit usage depends on the length of your video, up to a maximum of five minutes.

In the next section, find out how to create your first AI avatar video. Then, explore tips and known limitations to get the best results.

Generate AI Avatars

To get started, go to a lesson in your course and click Block Library in the shortcuts bar at the bottom. This opens the block library as a sidebar menu on the left. Then, click AI blocks > Generate AI avatar to open the AI Avatars workspace.

AI Avatars workspace with character and voice selection panels on the left, and character preview on the right.

You can either select a character to use as-is from the character library, create one of your own, or upload an image file. Whichever you use, you can customize it to fit your needs.

Select a Character

1. Choose a character from the Stock characters section within the Select character panel. Scroll down the gallery to discover more ready-to-use characters.
   • Use the dropdown button in the upper-right corner to show only Saved or Stock characters. The default is All characters.
2. Use Filters to find specific characters. The available filter options include:

• • Style: Photorealistic, Illustrated
  • Gender: Female, Male, Non-binary
  • Age: Young adult, Adult, Older adult
  • Environment: Office, Medical, Construction, Industry

1. See your currently selected character in the Results panel on the right. From here you can:
• Download the character by clicking the Download icon. (Characters download in PNG format.)
• Edit your character by clicking the Customize button.
• When you select a character, the Create voiceover panel will expand automatically.

Create a Character

To create a new character, click the Create button within the Create character panel. This opens the character customization interface.

Enter your prompt in the chat box to describe the character you want. Include as much detail as possible—for example, your desired character’s role or job, clothing, or setting, and the overall visual tone.

Enhance Prompt with AI

AI can help you turn simple character prompts into richer, more detailed descriptions. For example, if you start with a basic prompt like “A doctor,” you can click the Prompt assist button (sparkle icon) in the lower-right corner of the chat box, then click the Enhance with AI button in the pop-up menu. AI expands your prompt with details such as clothing, pose, expression, lighting, and background.

You can enhance prompts when creating a new character or editing an existing one.

Reference images

Use Reference images to guide character generation with your own visual assets, helping AI Assistant create characters that better match your brand style, environment, and visual identity. Here's how:

1. Click the Attach button (paperclip icon) in the lower-left below the chat box.
2. Upload up to four reference files by clicking their corresponding tiles:
   • Character: Upload an image of a person or character.
   • Background: Upload an image of a scene or environment.
   • Logo: Upload an image of your company or brand logo.

   • Additional image: Upload any additional reference image.

3. (Optional) To replace or delete a reference image, hover over it and click the Replace or Delete icon.

You can also choose from prebuilt prompts for style, framing, presentation, pose, environment, clothing, and expression. Click the Prompt assist button, then select a prebuilt prompt in the Quick prompts section of the pop-up menu. For guidance on getting the best results, check out the Tips & tricks section.

Use the Try again link under each response to regenerate an image with the last prompt. To start over from scratch, click the Start over link in the upper-right corner. This will delete all prompts and the results that have already been generated.

As you iterate, new versions appear in the preview panel. Use the filmstrip or arrows to switch between versions and compare results. Click the Expand image (magnifying glass) icon in the lower-right corner to see a larger preview of the image. To download the generated image, click the Download icon.

When you’re ready, select a version and click Save character. Enter a name, then click Save. Your character will appear under the Saved characters section. If you leave without saving, your changes will be lost.

To rename or delete a saved character, hover over it, click the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner, then choose Rename or Delete.

Upload a Character

1. Click the Upload button or drag and drop an image file into the Select character panel.
2. Select an image file from your computer if you clicked the Upload button.
• Supported image file formats include JPG, PNG, and WEBP, up to 10 MB.
3. Enter a name for your character, then click Save character.

The uploaded character appears in the Saved characters section.

Customize a Character

Customize your selected character by clicking the Customize button in the lower-right corner of the character preview. This opens the character customization interface, where you can do things like:

• Change the background or setting
• Update clothing or appearance
• Modify the character’s pose 
• Add or remove elements

Use reference images to guide character customization. Click the Attach button in the lower-left of the chat box, then upload an image of a character, background, logo, or any other image for additional reference.

To speed up customization, click the Prompt assist button in the lower-right of the chat box, then select any prebuilt prompts in the Quick prompts section. See the Tips & tricks section just below it for guidance on improving your results.

AI Avatars character customization chat interface

Add Character Voice

Use the audio selection panel to generate text-to-speech audio for your character. If you’ve used AI text-to-speech in Rise 360 before, this experience will feel familiar.

To choose a voice and create your audio, follow these steps:

1. Select a voice from the dropdown menu.
• If you’re using a character from the stock library, a recommended voice is selected by default.
• Open the dropdown to explore other options.
• Click the play button to preview a voice.
• Click View all voices to browse the full voice library.
2. Add your script.
• Enter your script in the text box.
• To generate a script, click Write with AI and enter a prompt or choose from prebuilt options.
• Scripts can be up to 5,000 characters long.
3. Configure advanced settings (optional).
• Click Advanced settings to choose a voice model or make further adjustments.
4. Generate speech.
• Click Generate voiceover to create the voiceover.
• Each version is saved in the History list on the right, below the character preview, for easy comparison.
• Use the static preview to check how the voice pairs with your character.

Set Video Options

AI avatar videos are compressed by default to preserve quality while optimizing file sizes for web distribution. To generate the highest-quality output, check the Optimize for LMS compatibility box in the Set video options panel. High-quality videos produce larger file sizes, which some Learning Management Systems (LMS) may not support.

Closed captions are automatically generated for AI avatar videos. To exclude closed captions, uncheck the Generate captions with AI box.

Generate Avatar Video

When you’re satisfied with the character and voice pairing, select both, and then click Generate video using [X] credits in the bottom right to create the avatar video. The credit usage is shown on the button, and your remaining credits appear next to it.

You’ll see a placeholder block while AI Assistant generates your video. A progress bar will also appear below it. You may continue working while this is in progress.

To edit your video, hover over the block, click Content, then click the Replace with AI Avatar icon in the sidebar menu. This will reopen the AI Avatars workspace, allowing you to update the character, voice, or script.

To download your avatar video, click the play button, then click the Download icon that appears in the lower-right corner when playback starts.

Insert AI Avatars in Custom Blocks

Add presenter-style videos to any layout you build, right from the custom block editor.

Here’s how:

1. Insert or edit a custom block.
2. In the left sidebar, select AI, then click Generate AI avatar. Or in the left sidebar, click Video. Either option opens the AI Avatars workspace directly in the custom block editor, so you can work without switching views.
3. Choose a character, select a voice, and add your script. Then, generate your video.

Your avatar video generates in the background, allowing you to keep building. Add more objects to your canvas, or step out of the custom block entirely to work on other parts of your course.

Easily resize the video according to your preference by dragging any corner sizing handle. When the video is ready, switch into preview mode to review the output.

Get Better Results with These Tips

The following tips will help you get better, more consistent results when creating AI Avatar videos:

• Keep content simple. Complex scenes with multiple characters or busy environments can lead to unnatural lip-syncing and background movement. Focus on videos that work well with single narrators, such as introductions, transitions, and key takeaways.
• Keep videos short. Videos can be a maximum of five minutes. Shorter presenter videos (less than 2 minutes) produce the best results.
• Make prompts clear and specific. Describe exactly what you want, including details like the character’s role, appearance, and environment.
• Focus on one idea at a time. Break longer content into individual avatar videos, each delivering a single message.

Understanding the following known limitations can help you get more predictable results:

• Generation takes a while. We’re prioritizing output quality, which can increase processing time—especially for longer scripts. We know this can feel slow, and we’re continuing to look for ways to improve the experience.
• You may see excessive or unwanted hand motions. Characters may sometimes gesture more with their hands than expected.
• Background movements might appear unnatural. You may notice subtle motion in the background, even when it’s supposed to be static.
• AI avatar video could trail off. Your video may end abruptly or trail off without a natural pause in the narration.

These are known limitations of the model and cannot be resolved through prompt adjustments. We are working to improve these experiences.

Usage and Credits FAQs

What is a credit? How does it work?

Each time you create or regenerate an AI Avatar video, a small number of video generation credits will be used. You’ll always see exactly how many credits a video will cost before you generate it.

As part of the Labs experience, you’ll have a fixed number of credits to explore and create. We’ll refresh these credits when we release AI Avatars to the public.

What happens when I run out of credits?

This experience currently includes a fixed number of credits. If you use yours up and would like more, you can apply to join our private beta. If you’re accepted, we’ll provide additional credits in exchange for participating in feedback sessions to help us improve the feature. Learn more about our beta and trial terms.

Do credits get used every time I edit or duplicate avatar video blocks?

Credits are only used when regenerating a video; duplicating avatar blocks or editing without regeneration doesn't consume credits.

Are failed generations refunded? How about low-quality or unexpected results?

If a generation fails, the credits used are automatically refunded, allowing you to try again. During this Labs phase, credits won’t be refunded if results don’t meet expectations.

Can credits be shared across a team?

No. Credits are tied to individual users and can’t be shared.

Can admins control or limit usage?

Usage controls are not available during this Labs phase.

Share Your Feedback

We’d love to hear how the AI Avatars feature is working for you! After generating a video, use the feedback prompt below the output to rate the result. Click the thumbs-up icon if it meets your needs, or the thumbs-down icon to share your thoughts. Either way, your input goes directly to our product and engineering teams to help improve the experience. You can also use this feedback survey link or share your thoughts in the comments below.