Forum Discussion
We Need to Talk, Ava Tar 😬 (Annual Performance Review)
Every employee gets a performance review. So I gave one to Articulate's AI Avatar.
Meet Ava Tar: AI Avatar, Virtual Presenter, and self nominated Employee of the Month.
She shows up on time, never asks for PTO, and has never once complained about the lighting. She also keeps talking after she's done, talks with her hands (all of them), and her lips occasionally do their own thing. So we needed to talk.
👉 We Need to Talk, Ava Tar 😬 (Annual Performance Review)
How it works
The whole thing is a Rise Code Block built like an HR review form. You're the manager.
⭐ Strengths: flip cards with the real wins. Script to video in minutes, no camera or studio, it lives right inside Rise, easy script swaps, captions included, and the same face every time.
📋 Growth areas: you rate Ava on 9 competencies like "Knowing When to Stop Talking" and "Works Well With Others." Each rating slams down a stamp, then shows the evidence, Ava's response, and my suggested fix.
💸 Development plan: you get 100 Review Bucks (play money!) to fund her upgrades. The upgrades cost way more than 100, so you have to choose. Just like real life.
✍️ Sign off: sign the review, compare your picks to mine, and hear Ava's response. Then hit reset and try again with different answers.
The plot twist: I ran out of credits 😅
Halfway through building a course about AI Avatar credits, I ran out of AI Avatar credits. So I leaned in. Ava's statements are now "submitted in writing due to a credit shortage." Her photo is stamped INSUFFICIENT CREDITS, and the Generate Video button responds with things like "Still 0 credits. We checked."
The good news is that AI audio doesn't use credits. So Ava still got her voice. Her face is just on unpaid leave. Her words type out as she talks, which accidentally demos one of my wish list items: an interactive transcript. 🤣
And yes, there's a blooper. Count the hands. 🙌
My wish list for Ava's development plan
- A trim editor after the video is done, to cut that awkward ending.
- Two avatars in one video, so we can build real conversations and scenarios.
- Fix one line without regenerating the whole video and spending credits again.
- Voice controls for pace, pauses, emphasis and tone, plus a way to fix pronunciation.
- A calm to expressive slider for gestures and background motion.
- A lip sync resync button.
- Translated narration, not just translated captions.
- A shared team library of approved avatars and voices.
- An interactive transcript in the player.
Why I built it this way
A pros and cons list is easy to skim and easy to forget. Turning feedback into a performance review made it personal, a little ridiculous, and much more fun to click through. And it let me be honest about the gaps while giving credit where it's due. I really do like working with Ava. I just want her to grow. 💙
Built with a co-creator
I built this with Claude as my development partner. Claude wrote the Code Block, and I directed the design, the jokes, and Ava Tar herself. Every image of Ava Tar was made with the AI Avatar tool.
Your turn!
How would you rate Ava Tar? And if you only had 100 Review Bucks, which upgrade would you fund first? Tell me in the comments 👇
3 Replies
Thanks for sharing this SMcNicol, a great example with some good feedback for the team. If you can, I'd love to hear any additional feedback on the Shape What's Next thread, and then you will also earn your 30 bonus ELH Rewards points!
SMcNicol,
You missed your calling on SNL. I'd actually laugh if you were one of their writers. This is excellent. I agree with everything on your wish list. I've used it sparingly because I don't want to run out of credits. We're a non-profit and won't have funds to purchase more credits. I hope Articulate grants you some credits for all your hard work sharing with the rest of the community. I learn so much from you every week. Thank you!!BelleHabs SNL?! 😂 Okay, you just made my whole week. Ava wants it noted that she would also like to be considered for the cast. She’s already got the hand gestures down.
Thank you so much for this, and I totally get the credit rationing. I was doing the same thing right up until I wasn’t. 😅
Here’s a silver lining from Ava’s budget crisis that might help your nonprofit: AI images and AI audio don’t use credits. That’s exactly how Ava survived. I gave her a voice with AI audio and let her words type out on screen. You get a lot of personality for zero credits. Her face just has to stay on unpaid leave. 💸
A little secret: I actually get better character images from the AI Avatar image generator than from the AI Image tool. I know, strange! But it keeps characters more consistent from shot to shot, which is how Ava got her full range of emotions. (And her bonus hand. 🙌)
And if Articulate ever sends credits my way, Ava has a cardboard sign ready to go.
Thank you for learning alongside me every week. Comments like yours are the best part of sharing. 💙
