Digital Avatars for Business

Digital avatars are an excellent solution for the B2B segment. Innovative developments with limitless capabilities are actively being integrated into marketing, the fashion industry, call centers, and many other fields. Digital avatars successfully replace brand ambassadors, customer support representatives, HR departments, coaches, and trainers. On one hand, utilizing the latest modules opens up entirely new opportunities for businesses, and on the other hand, it requires the integration of additional technologies focused on solving specific tasks.

What are smart avatars and in what areas are they applied?

In a broad sense, a virtual avatar is an application, program, or service that is partially endowed with human-like functions. In a narrow sense, the technology is oriented toward solving specific tasks. It is capable of performing actions in exchange for user-entered information. For example, it can manage a smart home, fulfill personal assistant functions, and automate business processes. Almost every phone features a voice assistant that can provide information about the nearest restaurant’s location, give weather updates, and even book movie tickets.

The popularity of virtual avatars is nearly impossible to overestimate. The interest in them, especially from the business sector, continues to grow. According to the latest statistical data, this market segment grew by 30% in just one year. The demand for the technology can be easily explained by the ability to delegate routine tasks to robots.

If we analyze the business processes in any commercial company, we can conclude that the majority of them are routine. People are forced to perform the same operations repeatedly: answering identical questions, making calls, sending contracts and business proposals, filling out forms, and much more. Moreover, all processes carried out by employees need to be carefully monitored to ensure they align with corporate standards. It’s not advisable to abandon typical operations, as they are a crucial part of business tasks. However, efficiency can be enhanced with the help of artificial intelligence.

The emergence of the ChatGPT model and its widespread accessibility is an unquestionable breakthrough. This technology can be used in business to address various tasks:

• Automating customer support.
• Generating content for advertising campaigns, social media, and blogs.
• Analyzing customer sentiment based on reviews and comments.
• Voicing responses and instructions.
• Analyzing large amounts of textual information.
• Data retrieval, information translation, and dialogue creation.

Furthermore, the bot is capable of generating reports in an automated format and even engaging in application development. It’s important to note that while the application offers significant possibilities for businesses, proper configuration is essential to achieve the desired efficiency and accuracy.

Features and Benefits of Using Virtual Avatars

A digital assistant is capable of simulating communication. Assistants vary in their level of development. Some can only engage in simple dialogues, while others are indistinguishable from humans. The ChatGPT bot understands the meaning of speech addressed to it, responds without time delay, knows numerous synonyms, and even uses filler words.

In addition to communicative functions, a digital bot can perform various actions predetermined by scripted scenarios. For example, a smart avatar can send text messages, route calls, generate reports based on processed calls, operate with information from the company’s database, and check for updates. However, for these actions, robots need to be integrated into the overall digital system.

Analyzing the properties of smart avatars described above, it becomes clear that they are necessary for:

• Human resources departments (can select employees and conduct interviews with them).
• Insurance companies, banks, internet service providers, and telecom operators (virtual assistants can inform customers about new tariffs and services, assist with bill payments, or remind them about overdue payments).
• Delivery services (bots can coordinate delivery dates with customers, and provide updates on purchase status).
• Beauty salons, clinics, and service-oriented organizations (can schedule client appointments or reschedule previously set dates).
• Online stores (virtual bots are used to inform visitors about special offers and promotions, assist customers with placing orders, boost sales, and enroll customers in loyalty programs).

Выше перечислены далеко не все сферы и не все задачи, которые могут решать смарт-аватары. Практически в любой организации бот может использоваться в качестве службы поддержки: передавать сообщения операторам, отвечать на вопросы клиентов, консультировать по стандартным вопросам. Также, цифровые аватары могут проводить анкетирование. Помогают они в решении внутрикорпоративных задач, например, ускоряют взаимодействие между отделами, заменяют сотрудников при решении текущих вопросов.

Technology of creation (unity, metahuman) – advantages and disadvantages

There are different tools for creating 3D characters. In February 2021, the MetaHuman Creator editor was announced, which impressed millions of users with its capabilities. The tool is an online editor, therefore it requires internet access. Currently, there are more than 50 templates of human figures of various genders, ages, and races.

Benefits of MetaHuman Creator:

• The digital human will have unique features.
• The process of creating a new appearance takes very little time.
• Different levels of detail are available to users.
• The created character is automatically saved in the database.

Drawbacks of MetaHuman Creator:

• Cloud-based workflow.
• Suitable only for creating characters that resemble humans in appearance.
• Achieving a 100% likeness to the original is difficult (creating a doppelgänger is theoretically possible, but not always achievable in practice).
• Models can only be used within the Unreal Engine framework.
• Limited choice of clothing.

However, even considering the current limitations, MetaHuman Creator offers excellent opportunities for developers. Another development environment that deserves attention is Unity. Thanks to its user-friendly interface, the engine allows for the comfortable and fast creation of characters.

Advantages of Unity:

• Enables the development of models without specialized knowledge.
• Thanks to its user-friendly interface and functional editor, you can immediately test the results.
• Availability of a substantial library of templates.

Additionally, Unity supports a wide range of technologies and platforms. It functions with all modern effects. However, despite all its merits, it does have some shortcomings: models created in Unity occupy a lot of space. When developing complex projects, assistance from specialists is indispensable.

Examples:

As mentioned earlier, digital assistants have garnered significant interest from business representatives. For instance, Genies (creator of virtual avatars) has partnered with Gucci and Giphy. As a result, users gained the ability to create stylish looks for their avatars. Visitors can try on novelties, and the company can sell virtual goods on the Genies-developed website. Giphy’s customers can use their avatars in the form of animated GIFs.

Representatives of the Genies company managed to secure contracts with various popular individuals, including Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and Shawn Mendes. Moreover, the company has successfully collaborated with basketball and baseball associations. Not long ago, IKEA conducted a promotional campaign using a digital avatar named Imma, who showcased all the advantages of the furniture presented in the company’s collection to customers. Even in the Karnataka Bank branch, a virtual assistant is employed, which interacts seamlessly with consumers.

The benefits of digital avatars are evident. Firstly, they allow companies to minimize expenses for maintaining customer support services. Secondly, they relieve specialists from dealing with routine inquiries. Thirdly, they have a positive impact on productivity levels. A digital assistant can work around the clock without weekends or lunch breaks. As a result, it’s safe to say that smart avatars significantly enhance the quality of customer service. They won’t miss any messages and will promptly respond to user queries.