The next interface is a face

The interface between humans and computers has continuously evolved, from binary switches to GUIs to small black mirrors and now, natural language prompts. But a new interface is emerging: avatars.

Avatars, or digital humans, combine advanced AI models with visual and auditory cues, unlocking real-time human-like interactions with a computer. They present an intuitive engagement layer increasingly suited to AI's growing capabilities.

Avatars have long had commercial promise. Tencent’s QQ Show, launched nearly two decades ago, gained five million paying users within six months. But recent AI advances are making avatars indispensable. Startups such as HeyGen (35,000 customers, $35M+ ARR) and Synthesia (60,000 customers, $100M+ ARR) highlight surging demand. Avatars are already core to product experiences at companies like Mercor and Delphi. And new entrants like Canopy and Anam are pushing the frontier even further.

Three trends are driving this acceleration:

1. Leverage on time
   Therapy clinics, sales teams, fitness coaches, influencers, and customer service centers are using avatars to operate 24/7, without the constraints of human fatigue or scheduling conflicts. For example, an executive coach can scale their business by offering avatar-led sessions that incorporate their methodology and voice.
2. Reasoning and memory
   Enhanced AI reasoning now enables avatars to hold context-aware, coherent conversations, dramatically increasing their utility and credibility. AI models today can pass bar exams, remember 1000s of words (a capacity that will only grow), and solve complex logic problems. These leaps in capabilities will make humans more trusting of AI avatars.
3. Closing the uncanny valley
   Recent breakthroughs in real-time audio and video generation have made avatars significantly more lifelike. Platforms like Tolan offer emotionally expressive alien avatars. They already have over 44K ratings with an average of 4.8 stars on the App Store. One Reddit user “sobbed like a baby” while talking to their Tolan. Also pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, Anam’s avatars demonstrate real-time human emotional range. And Tavus avatars are already being used by teams at Deloitte, Aetna, ByteDance, and more.

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Having a personalized, reasoning companion in your pocket could be helpful in many different contexts. Some of the areas primed for avatar-driven disruption include:

• Creators: Deepening parasocial relationships.
• Companions: Addressing loneliness and care.
• Healthcare: Always-available diagnostic support.
• Gaming: Immersive interactive experiences.
• Recruitment: Scalable interviewing and coaching.
• Sales: Enhanced product demos and onboarding.
• Therapy: Highly present, emotionally aware help. 
• Tutoring: Continuous personalized guidance.

However, challenges (and opportunities) remain. Capturing nuanced expressions, tones, and regional differences effectively will require advancements in voice and emotional mapping. For example, check out Nvidia’s audio2face-3d, which generates lip synching and facial animations. Also important is ensuring easy and accessible avatar training and customization. Licensing issues, particularly managing IP rights around celebrity avatars, present another significant hurdle. And how avatars complete, delegate, and report on tasks must be figured out to build long-term trust. Cross-platform integration must deliver seamless user experiences across devices and modalities. Robust avatar analytics frameworks are needed to accurately evaluate effectiveness and user responses, and how about avatar-to-avatar interactions? There’s a lot of work to be done.

Avatar experiences have rapidly evolved from clumsy experiments into polished products, generating millions in revenue. Today, avatars conduct hundreds of thousands of job interviews, offer personalized support, and offer a glimpse at a tantalizing future where the boundaries between chatbot, digital human, and robot are blurred. 

Still, most people aren’t even aware of this shift. Avatars are becoming a new foundational interface layer, a personal and persistent AI presence woven into daily life. For founders, the opportunity is clear: avatars are the next frontier of human-computer interaction.

The next interface is a face, and the conversation is just getting started.