Subscribe now and get the latest podcast releases delivered straight to your inbox.
How Businesses Can Use AI to Scale Video [Endless Customers Podcast Ep. 116]

By Alex Winter
Oct 1, 2025
Listen on
View the full transcription of this episode.
__
This transcript has been generated by AI and not checked for accuracy.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:22
Cathal
every business or every person
00:00:01:22 - 00:00:04:09
Cathal
always has to figure out how to tell their story,
00:00:04:09 - 00:00:07:08
Cathal
whether it's about the products they're selling, the partners,
00:00:07:08 - 00:00:08:17
Cathal
the progress they're making, or
00:00:08:17 - 00:00:11:06
Cathal
even just in their personal life, communicating. Hey, like,
00:00:11:06 - 00:00:13:06
Cathal
this is why I'm good for this job or
00:00:13:06 - 00:00:13:20
Cathal
this is why you
00:00:13:20 - 00:00:15:14
Cathal
consider me for x, y z.
00:00:15:14 - 00:00:16:07
Cathal
Hey, Jen
00:00:16:07 - 00:00:20:09
Cathal
wants to help you amplify the stories that you want to get out there into the world,
00:00:20:09 - 00:00:24:22
Cathal
we really see ourselves as educators. We want to educate people around this technology
00:00:24:22 - 00:00:26:12
Cathal
and then however they want to go and use it.
00:00:26:12 - 00:00:27:12
Cathal
We'll support them on that.
00:00:29:08 - 00:00:48:03
Speaker 2
You're listening to the Endless Customers podcast, brought to you by the team at impact! Ellis customers is the proven system to become the most known and trusted brand in your market. You want to start to learn the principles of endless customers and how you can implement them in your business. Pick up a copy of Endless Customers, a national bestseller wherever books are sold.
00:00:48:05 - 00:01:05:07
Speaker 2
Ready to start implementing endless customers in your business? Talk to impacts about how our coaching program can help you implement Ellis customers to success. And if you wanna experience endless customers in person. Do not miss our upcoming conference, Endless Customers Live in Chicago March 30th through April 1st, 2026.
00:01:05:07 - 00:01:06:22
Speaker 2
Registration is now open.
00:01:06:22 - 00:01:08:11
Speaker 2
And now onto the show.
00:01:08:11 - 00:01:09:15
Bob Ruffolo
Here's your host Alex
00:01:09:15 - 00:01:15:04
Alex
Today we're diving into one of the hottest conversations in business. Right now, AI avatars
00:01:15:04 - 00:01:19:12
Alex
are the future of communication, or just another tech fad that risks making us feel less human.
00:01:19:12 - 00:01:21:11
Alex
The truth is, it depends on how you use them.
00:01:21:11 - 00:01:25:15
Alex
Joining me today is Kajal Canavan, head of Hey Jen for agencies at Hey Jen.
00:01:25:15 - 00:01:31:08
Alex
Kajol works closely with businesses and agencies that are experimenting with avatars and AI powered video every day.
00:01:31:08 - 00:01:36:20
Alex
And what he's seeing is clear when used thoughtfully. AI tools don't replace human connection. They amplify it.
00:01:36:20 - 00:01:42:05
Alex
So if you're ever wondering how AI fits into the endless customer journey or how you can use it without losing trust,
00:01:42:05 - 00:01:46:22
Alex
this conversation will give you the clarity, the confidence, and the next steps that you're going to need.
00:01:46:22 - 00:01:48:16
Alex
Kajol. Welcome to the show, my friend.
00:01:48:20 - 00:01:50:23
Cathal
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to have a chat.
00:01:51:02 - 00:01:57:00
Alex
I'm really excited to have a chat. And I know our audience and our community is going to be very excited to. Everyone's been talking about,
00:01:57:00 - 00:01:58:18
Alex
of course, I, but specifically
00:01:58:18 - 00:02:03:10
Alex
hey Jen and how they can use some of the really cool tools that you guys are creating and developing
00:02:03:10 - 00:02:05:22
Alex
to their advantage and how it plays into the endless customer system.
00:02:05:22 - 00:02:06:09
Alex
But
00:02:06:09 - 00:02:07:07
Alex
before we get into that,
00:02:07:07 - 00:02:15:00
Alex
I'd love for you to tell me just a little bit about what you do. What? Hey, Jen. And then set the stage for our viewers and listeners about like, what? Hey, Jen is as a company and what you guys are trying to do in the marketplace.
00:02:15:00 - 00:02:23:21
Cathal
Yeah, of course. So my name is Carl from the Hey Jen team. I grew up in Ireland, moved to the US for grad school, and then ended up at hey Jen
00:02:23:21 - 00:02:25:19
Cathal
We're a generative video company.
00:02:25:19 - 00:02:43:03
Cathal
We help people create, translate, personalize videos. More recently, we've started developing interactive video experiences. But our mission is to free people. Story. We want to make visual storytelling more accessible to everyone.
00:02:43:03 - 00:02:51:02
Cathal
Growing up, something my parents would always tell me is you can learn something from everyone and something that really stuck with me.
00:02:51:02 - 00:03:06:00
Cathal
But I think now that, hey Jen, what we're realizing is everyone has a story to tell, and our mission and our dream is just to make it much easier for people who maybe aren't as familiar with video equipment to actually go and create visual content.
00:03:06:00 - 00:03:08:10
Alex
I love that that's so inspiring to hear that. And
00:03:08:10 - 00:03:11:03
Alex
I come out of a video and film background, so
00:03:11:03 - 00:03:14:13
Alex
it really always comes back to storytelling, and that's like throughout history,
00:03:14:13 - 00:03:18:03
Alex
storytelling is how you connect people and connect cultures. And,
00:03:18:03 - 00:03:20:23
Alex
just really, really cool to hear the mission and what you guys are doing over it.
00:03:20:23 - 00:03:23:05
Alex
Hey, Jen. And I'm obviously I'm a fan as well.
00:03:23:05 - 00:03:23:14
Cathal
Yeah.
00:03:23:14 - 00:03:26:18
Alex
So what specifically do you do there at hey Jen, like, what's your day to day?
00:03:26:18 - 00:03:36:17
Cathal
I'm on the go to market team. I'd. Hey, Jen, working with our enterprise customers, but more specifically working with, marketing agencies and video agencies,
00:03:36:17 - 00:03:43:11
Cathal
folks who are on the cutting edge trying to figure out how we can adopt these new video technologies to serve their clients.
00:03:43:11 - 00:03:50:23
Cathal
in a lot of cases, before a client jump straight in, they're going to go to a trusted partner who understands how to use our technology and,
00:03:50:23 - 00:03:55:04
Cathal
we have a wonderful time working with these customers and understanding where they want to go.
00:03:55:04 - 00:03:58:12
Cathal
What are their clients asking for? The thing we hear most is
00:03:58:12 - 00:04:04:20
Cathal
they want more video. They want it faster. They want it cheaper. They want to be more creative. And that's where hey, Jen comes in.
00:04:05:00 - 00:04:05:03
Alex
That's
00:04:05:03 - 00:04:05:16
Alex
so cool.
00:04:05:16 - 00:04:07:14
Alex
big fans here. We use Hey Jen quite a bit.
00:04:07:14 - 00:04:11:00
Alex
I'm hitting you up on a regular basis for ideas, tips, tricks, questions
00:04:11:00 - 00:04:11:22
Alex
that we're having.
00:04:11:22 - 00:04:17:14
Alex
We have a great partnership, but we also want to be able to liaise on what we're learning from all the amazing work that you're doing
00:04:17:14 - 00:04:20:14
Alex
with our book of business and clients that we have as well, that we know
00:04:20:14 - 00:04:21:22
Alex
want exactly what you're talking about.
00:04:21:22 - 00:04:22:06
Alex
So
00:04:22:06 - 00:04:24:14
Alex
we got a lot to talk about. So let's just get into it. Right. So
00:04:24:14 - 00:04:26:01
Alex
I think the biggest piece right,
00:04:26:01 - 00:04:26:11
Alex
for
00:04:26:11 - 00:04:35:19
Alex
the book that we have, endless customers is a system that we developed. And it's rooted in trust. And trust is so important when it comes to business no matter what. It's a fundamental principle.
00:04:35:19 - 00:04:36:19
Alex
And
00:04:36:19 - 00:04:42:01
Alex
we've had the question or people going back and forth on like, can you still build trust with an AI avatar?
00:04:42:01 - 00:04:43:02
Alex
Because technically
00:04:43:02 - 00:04:44:11
Alex
it's not real, it's AI.
00:04:44:11 - 00:04:49:19
Alex
But like, how does one do that? And how can you create maybe custom avatars or use avatars in a way
00:04:49:19 - 00:04:54:18
Alex
that are going to build trust and that are going to be really useful in the sales process or another facets of your business?
00:04:54:18 - 00:05:03:08
Cathal
Wonderful question. And it's something we get a lot, you know, like some people put up their, guard a little bit when we start having these conversations. But
00:05:03:08 - 00:05:10:19
Cathal
I suppose before we even talk about AI video, it really all comes back to storytelling. Why is storytelling important?
00:05:10:19 - 00:05:15:01
Cathal
It's really to, you know, cut through the noise, make people feel connected.
00:05:15:01 - 00:05:20:18
Cathal
video is people's preferred way of consuming content. Now it's all about human connection.
00:05:20:18 - 00:05:30:14
Cathal
when we talk about hey, Jen, yes, avatar video is a big piece of what we do, but we see ourselves as a one stop shop to help people amplify their stories and,
00:05:30:14 - 00:05:32:16
Cathal
make human connection at scale.
00:05:32:16 - 00:05:35:13
Cathal
I suppose let's jump in with like, the biggest misconception,
00:05:35:13 - 00:05:39:16
Cathal
people initially think that avatars are here to replace humans.
00:05:39:18 - 00:05:49:05
Cathal
That's not correct at all. You know, there's always going to be opportunities like today where we're both in front of a camera, we're jamming on some ideas, we're having a live conversation.
00:05:49:05 - 00:06:00:11
Cathal
But there is times where maybe we can't show up and have these type of conversations. Or maybe you can't create videos or tell your story as consistently as you want to.
00:06:00:13 - 00:06:02:09
Cathal
And that's where avatars come in.
00:06:02:09 - 00:06:06:03
Cathal
We hear so many, like, really wholesome stories from our customers,
00:06:06:03 - 00:06:20:17
Cathal
who are able to build businesses around. Hey, Jen, where they might have had a very niche audience. I think the example that comes to mind is we work with this, cat psychologist in Germany, and her whole business is around creating content.
00:06:20:18 - 00:06:27:14
Cathal
And in the past, she just created everything in German. And as you could imagine, the market for cat psychology businesses.
00:06:27:14 - 00:06:36:21
Cathal
it's quite small, but with hey Jen, she can now create an avatar and she can now create all of her content in 150 different languages. So
00:06:36:21 - 00:06:45:12
Cathal
it's still super authentic. It's coming from her, but she's just able to, you know, reach different audiences and, and spread that story elsewhere with the avatar.
00:06:45:13 - 00:06:45:23
Cathal
So
00:06:45:23 - 00:06:48:03
Alex
Cat psychology, that is definitely niche.
00:06:48:03 - 00:06:49:05
Alex
love that I'm sure we have a lot of
00:06:49:05 - 00:06:50:02
Alex
cat people out there too.
00:06:50:02 - 00:06:50:10
Alex
that's
00:06:50:10 - 00:07:02:10
Alex
fascinating. And I think it's such a great point that it allows you to have all these different potential language translations. And it's still you, it's still your authentic content, but you can speak in whatever language you need to to help
00:07:02:10 - 00:07:03:22
Alex
meet people where they are and still tell
00:07:03:22 - 00:07:05:02
Alex
your story in an authentic way.
00:07:05:02 - 00:07:05:08
Alex
And I
00:07:05:08 - 00:07:07:13
Alex
think that's fascinating because most people I mean,
00:07:07:13 - 00:07:12:02
Alex
you're from Ireland, most Europeans can speak a couple languages, but most Americans, I'm stereotyping
00:07:12:02 - 00:07:13:08
Alex
here. Most Americans only speak
00:07:13:08 - 00:07:17:19
Alex
one language. It's yeah, yeah. So it just really opens the door for people to have
00:07:17:19 - 00:07:20:18
Alex
way more content and reach a much wider audience.
00:07:20:22 - 00:07:36:20
Cathal
Whether you're someone who loves jumping in front of the camera or, you know, it absolutely terrifies you, there's always times where people just don't want to do it. Maybe you're having a bad hair day, right? Maybe you just don't want to be the person in front of a camera. It's interesting. Like our co-founders,
00:07:36:20 - 00:07:47:11
Cathal
Wayne and Joshua would be the first people to put up their hand and say, you know, the thoughts of getting in front of a camera and making some videos is not something that gets them very excited.
00:07:47:13 - 00:07:50:11
Cathal
They'd rather be building a product and talking to customers, but
00:07:50:11 - 00:08:00:23
Cathal
they built this product for themselves so that they can help tell their story without some of the unpleasantness of getting into a studio, right? Making sure your hair looks good and having something to say.
00:08:00:23 - 00:08:08:22
Alex
Yeah, you know what, too? I found this historically to be true that people who design and develop products to solve a problem that they're having first end up being the best,
00:08:08:22 - 00:08:17:10
Alex
products and solutions for everybody out there. So that's really cool to hear that. Also, you know, because I come out of video production, I think about the fact that a lot of people don't know how to use cameras or
00:08:17:10 - 00:08:18:22
Alex
aren't like classically trained
00:08:18:22 - 00:08:21:21
Alex
with like higher end production cameras and lighting and setups.
00:08:21:23 - 00:08:24:19
Alex
And if you don't, then you have to hire a team and it's expensive.
00:08:24:19 - 00:08:25:02
Alex
So
00:08:25:02 - 00:08:30:12
Alex
if you could hire a team once to create your avatar and then you could use that indefinitely,
00:08:30:12 - 00:08:31:09
Alex
The value there's huge.
00:08:31:09 - 00:08:32:05
Alex
100%.
00:08:32:05 - 00:08:43:08
Cathal
our dream is to replace the camera because yes, we have so much video content at the moment, but there's such a small percentage of the population who can actually create great videos. And,
00:08:43:08 - 00:08:50:15
Cathal
some of our recent product announcements and updates have been around, how do we help people who don't even have a camera create great video content?
00:08:50:15 - 00:08:53:15
Alex
And I've been seeing that there's there's a really cool feature and you guys are on rolling,
00:08:53:15 - 00:08:56:22
Alex
like unveiling new features and new tools all the time. It's pretty impressive,
00:08:56:22 - 00:09:01:02
Alex
I've been seeing ones where you can animate photos now, and the animations from the photos are
00:09:01:02 - 00:09:03:03
Alex
pretty darn good. They're pretty impressive.
00:09:03:03 - 00:09:07:02
Cathal
Yeah, our new avatar four model we released at the start of this summer,
00:09:07:02 - 00:09:11:00
Cathal
takes photos, brings them to life. In the past, you might have had like,
00:09:11:00 - 00:09:20:08
Cathal
just a mouth moving up and down and, you know, it just didn't look, sound and feel like you wanted it to. But the new avatar four model will add, you know, emotions.
00:09:20:08 - 00:09:24:12
Cathal
It'll even add hand movements, gestures. It'll give your,
00:09:24:12 - 00:09:29:16
Cathal
body like a little sway, like you would if you were actually talking to someone. So there's a lot we can do now with
00:09:29:16 - 00:09:39:06
Cathal
photos. And we're even seeing some of our customers, completely AI generating personas as well. So if they don't want to get in front of a camera, they can just create something
00:09:39:06 - 00:09:40:10
Cathal
make some content with.
00:09:40:10 - 00:09:42:14
Alex
That's. So that's something I definitely want to talk about.
00:09:42:14 - 00:09:45:19
Alex
how does that going as far as like if you don't want to be on camera or you wanted to
00:09:45:19 - 00:09:49:11
Alex
create like an avatar that represents your sales team, your business,
00:09:49:11 - 00:09:53:02
Alex
how does one go about doing that? And then can you maybe share some examples of companies that are like
00:09:53:02 - 00:09:57:16
Alex
scaling, using either that model or using your AI to their advantage to help
00:09:57:16 - 00:09:58:15
Alex
grow their businesses?
00:09:58:15 - 00:10:02:22
Cathal
Yeah. One of the kind of big examples. Well, how would they start? For starters,
00:10:02:22 - 00:10:04:04
Cathal
come in with an idea.
00:10:04:04 - 00:10:08:02
Cathal
one of the big use cases is sales teams. We work with a lot of sales teams.
00:10:08:02 - 00:10:17:17
Cathal
In particular, I'm thinking of one customer in, like, the pharmaceutical industry and health industry, and it's super regulated in terms of what they can say and not say.
00:10:17:17 - 00:10:25:07
Cathal
So being able to type in a very specific script saves a lot of reshoots in the studio. But one thing that they'll do is,
00:10:25:07 - 00:10:36:17
Cathal
they'll generate like a persona. It might be like a physician or a doctor, and then they'll create content with that physician or a doctor and send these 1 to 1 videos to their customers,
00:10:36:17 - 00:10:42:11
Cathal
they'll even say it's AI generated, but it just really helps them free their story, get the word across,
00:10:42:11 - 00:10:44:01
Cathal
it get people super engaged.
00:10:44:01 - 00:10:51:00
Cathal
You know, I think gone are the days where people want to sit down and read large documents or read large emails,
00:10:51:00 - 00:10:59:03
Cathal
even LinkedIn now has short form videos up there. It's it's completely a video First world. And, we're seeing a lot of teams like adopting them.
00:10:59:10 - 00:11:00:13
Alex
Yeah, absolutely.
00:11:00:13 - 00:11:03:02
Alex
as much as I like reading, I'm on the same page where
00:11:03:02 - 00:11:04:23
Alex
I want to watch content now. And that's definitely where
00:11:04:23 - 00:11:08:12
Alex
it's been trending that way. And it's only going to keep going that way as we move forward.
00:11:08:12 - 00:11:08:23
Alex
something
00:11:08:23 - 00:11:14:23
Alex
interesting in your response there about how sometimes people will even say like, hey, this is my AI avatar, and we've
00:11:14:23 - 00:11:16:22
Alex
talked a lot about that internally, and using
00:11:16:22 - 00:11:22:18
Alex
avatars with the endless customer system to be totally transparent, it's okay to say, hey, this is my avatar.
00:11:22:20 - 00:11:26:13
Alex
And it might almost in certain cases be better because people are pretty savvy. People know
00:11:26:13 - 00:11:28:01
Alex
what's up. And as great as the
00:11:28:01 - 00:11:29:01
Alex
technology is,
00:11:29:01 - 00:11:30:20
Alex
can still tell if it's an avatar or not.
00:11:30:20 - 00:11:32:12
Alex
for the most part, there are some ones that are
00:11:32:12 - 00:11:33:19
Alex
easier to identify than others. But
00:11:33:19 - 00:11:42:14
Alex
like, do you recommend saying that like, hey, this is my avatar and I'm here to help guide you along this process until you're ready to actually speak to a human or like, what would you recommend or what are you seeing
00:11:42:14 - 00:11:43:15
Alex
in that particular space?
00:11:43:15 - 00:11:51:21
Cathal
Our goal as a company is to get to a point where every piece of video content we help you put out looks, sounds and feel like a real person,
00:11:51:21 - 00:11:59:10
Cathal
and you actually can't tell the difference. But there is definitely like circumstances where I would say, hey, this is AI generated.
00:11:59:10 - 00:12:01:05
Cathal
I think like two examples come to mind.
00:12:01:05 - 00:12:17:04
Cathal
One is if you're using agents video translation feature, where maybe you have a video of a CEO speaking in English and you want to translate it to Spanish. We will do the translation, we'll do a voice clone, and then we'll do a lip sync to make,
00:12:17:04 - 00:12:24:02
Cathal
that person speak the new language. And, you know, in a lot of cases, it makes sense just to say, hey, this is AI translated.
00:12:24:02 - 00:12:32:22
Cathal
You know, our CEO doesn't speak Mandarin, German, Spanish, French. You know, it's not that realistic, right? So a lot of people will get out
00:12:32:22 - 00:12:38:04
Cathal
in front of it and say that. And then I think I've even seen some brands really lean into it.
00:12:38:04 - 00:12:47:01
Cathal
One, brand we work with in Australia is a low cost telecommunications provider, a little bit like Mint Mobile.
00:12:47:03 - 00:12:50:22
Cathal
And they started creating TV ads with Gen Z avatars,
00:12:50:22 - 00:13:07:23
Cathal
and they actually positioned it like, hey, we're trying to cut costs for our customers all the time. Our goal is to be the lowest cost provider in the space. We're now using AI videos to ensure that we can give you the lowest cost per month. And they made it into like a really humorous campaign.
00:13:07:23 - 00:13:08:06
Cathal
And,
00:13:08:06 - 00:13:09:20
Cathal
the results have been pretty fantastic.
00:13:10:01 - 00:13:14:18
Alex
That's amazing. I love hearing that. I know if Markus was here, he'd be all over this because
00:13:14:18 - 00:13:17:02
Alex
it's so cheeky and genuine to say,
00:13:17:02 - 00:13:18:14
Alex
hey, we could have spent all this
00:13:18:14 - 00:13:22:17
Alex
budget on advertising and filming this huge production, and we chose not to to save you
00:13:22:17 - 00:13:23:04
Alex
the money.
00:13:23:04 - 00:13:24:16
Alex
So you get the best service at the best
00:13:24:16 - 00:13:26:04
Alex
price. That's genius, I love that.
00:13:26:04 - 00:13:27:02
Alex
Very cool. Example.
00:13:27:02 - 00:13:30:22
Alex
How are you seeing it being used in the sales process? Like specifically you talked
00:13:30:22 - 00:13:32:03
Alex
about 1 to 1 video.
00:13:32:03 - 00:13:36:22
Alex
the translation obviously is a huge piece. If you're working in different markets internationally with
00:13:36:22 - 00:13:37:17
Alex
different languages, but
00:13:37:17 - 00:13:44:00
Alex
have you seen it like benefiting sales teams and scaling sales teams? Maybe that we're having issues with like call volume and things like that.
00:13:44:00 - 00:13:52:19
Cathal
So many different ways from from the get go will help with like sales enablement. So we helped train sales team using video content
00:13:52:19 - 00:14:05:06
Cathal
in enablement team might create a video and then especially if they're moving in like a fast moving space, like I that becomes outdated after a month. So they need to create new content to train the sales teams.
00:14:05:20 - 00:14:07:11
Cathal
We're also seeing sellers,
00:14:07:11 - 00:14:11:09
Cathal
creating multilingual videos so that they can reach into new markets,
00:14:11:09 - 00:14:23:09
Cathal
creating client pitches and proposals. So let's say you've talked to a customer, you know, you're getting to a point where there's alignment and you want to actually like really drive home the value of what you're selling.
00:14:23:09 - 00:14:29:23
Cathal
It's really easy to say this is an AI generated video, but I just wanted to create this for you, a very personalized,
00:14:29:23 - 00:14:32:01
Cathal
pitch or proposal for the client.
00:14:32:02 - 00:14:39:01
Cathal
So that they can go and watch it. And what we always like, talk about on our sales team is we have to create assets that are
00:14:39:01 - 00:14:48:11
Cathal
the leave behind us. It's the take home assets. And these are the ones that are shared with people who might not have been involved in the conversations. When I think about it,
00:14:48:11 - 00:14:56:05
Cathal
if someone sends a PDF from a supplier that we're looking at at, hey, Jen, into our slack, you know, I probably won't click into it.
00:14:56:10 - 00:15:10:02
Cathal
But if someone sends in this video and it's personalized, it says, hey, hey Jen, team, I know you're considering a lot of suppliers. This is what we do. This is what we're good at. People are just a lot more engaged and more willing to watch it. There's a bit of a novelty there as well.
00:15:10:02 - 00:15:12:07
Alex
absolutely. No, we totally agree. And,
00:15:12:07 - 00:15:17:06
Alex
you know, an endless customer is we say this a lot, that 1 to 1 video or personalized video is so
00:15:17:06 - 00:15:17:22
Alex
critical to
00:15:17:22 - 00:15:20:01
Alex
having somebody engage with your content
00:15:20:01 - 00:15:23:16
Alex
or not. And I'm the same way if someone sends me a PDF versus a video,
00:15:23:16 - 00:15:25:04
Alex
I'm going to look at the video
00:15:25:04 - 00:15:26:05
Alex
before I look at the PDF.
00:15:26:05 - 00:15:27:08
Alex
And I think that's true for
00:15:27:08 - 00:15:30:15
Alex
a lot of folks out there. And then I think what happens to is the excuse of like,
00:15:30:15 - 00:15:33:21
Alex
we don't have the means to do video. I don't understand video. I don't want to be on camera.
00:15:33:21 - 00:15:34:15
Alex
But I think the most
00:15:34:15 - 00:15:35:20
Alex
beautiful part of this is
00:15:35:20 - 00:15:40:02
Alex
this removes some of those fears, worries, doubts, concerns and gives people the opportunity
00:15:40:02 - 00:15:40:08
Alex
to not
00:15:40:08 - 00:15:41:08
Alex
have these pieces anymore.
00:15:41:08 - 00:15:47:07
Cathal
One of the most exciting things that hey Jen right now is our interactive avatar or live avatar.
00:15:47:07 - 00:15:48:14
Cathal
And that is essentially,
00:15:48:14 - 00:15:55:15
Cathal
you can train a, knowledge base with all of the most frequently asked questions from your customers.
00:15:55:15 - 00:16:02:08
Cathal
And you can connect it to an avatar. And right now, if you reach out to, hey, Jen, one of the first things we do is send you our
00:16:02:08 - 00:16:04:01
Cathal
interactive at the time.
00:16:04:03 - 00:16:18:18
Cathal
And for pre-sales, people can actually go and have a lot of their questions answered by this interactive avatar via video experience. You can talk to the avatar, you can type the avatar, and the avatar will actually talk back to you in real time.
00:16:18:18 - 00:16:26:00
Cathal
Especially if you have a lot of call volume or if a lot of inbound leads and maybe some of them just have, you know, 3 or 4 questions.
00:16:26:00 - 00:16:27:13
Cathal
They don't need the whole demo.
00:16:27:13 - 00:16:30:13
Cathal
These interactive avatars can be a super useful way to do that.
00:16:30:15 - 00:16:36:06
Alex
that's one of the key pieces that I'm most excited about. And, and we're going to get into some more of the product launches you have in a second here.
00:16:36:06 - 00:16:36:14
Alex
But we're
00:16:36:14 - 00:16:38:02
Alex
experimenting with that now here as
00:16:38:02 - 00:16:40:01
Alex
well. And I think a lot of our customers here could
00:16:40:01 - 00:16:43:08
Alex
use that to your advantage, especially when you go to a Frequently Asked Questions page.
00:16:43:08 - 00:16:44:13
Alex
we really recommend people have
00:16:44:13 - 00:16:48:23
Alex
video on every page of their site, especially when it comes to questions or pricing pages,
00:16:48:23 - 00:16:50:18
Alex
just so that there's extra clarity because
00:16:50:18 - 00:16:55:05
Alex
people who don't want to read it gives them the chance to, like, hear from somebody and get the truth
00:16:55:05 - 00:16:56:00
Alex
if you could have an
00:16:56:00 - 00:16:57:12
Alex
interactive avatar answering those questions,
00:16:57:12 - 00:16:58:17
Alex
I mean, that's
00:16:58:17 - 00:16:59:08
Alex
fascinating.
00:16:59:11 - 00:17:00:12
Alex
Absolutely fascinating.
00:17:00:12 - 00:17:03:06
Alex
I guess it begs the question, what else are you working on? Like
00:17:03:06 - 00:17:04:11
Alex
I'm like, excited to hear. Like
00:17:04:11 - 00:17:10:17
Alex
What behind the scenes are like, what can you tell us are some new products coming out or maybe some new things that you're most excited about as we move forward?
00:17:10:17 - 00:17:11:17
Alex
Yeah, for the rest of 2025
00:17:11:17 - 00:17:12:10
Alex
here.
00:17:12:10 - 00:17:14:10
Cathal
I think just to like, set the scene.
00:17:14:10 - 00:17:21:02
Cathal
The thing that differentiates hey Jen from other AI video providers is we focus on three main areas
00:17:21:02 - 00:17:24:10
Cathal
quality, consistency and controllability.
00:17:24:10 - 00:17:34:03
Cathal
These are the three pillars that we're really optimizing for. And then we take a lot of signal from folks like marketing teams and sales teams who want to create content.
00:17:34:03 - 00:17:41:14
Cathal
They want to create the highest quality external facing content. And they are always pushing us to do better and to do more.
00:17:41:14 - 00:17:46:03
Cathal
So we have a lot in store. I think as of today's recording, we had a pretty big,
00:17:46:03 - 00:17:49:23
Cathal
day yesterday at Hey Jen, we relaunched our rebrand.
00:17:49:23 - 00:17:54:09
Cathal
We launched our video agent product that we're really, really excited about.
00:17:54:09 - 00:18:04:13
Cathal
Video agent is a way you can go into, hey, Jen, type in a prompt and we'll create a video end to end with a role. So it could be your avatar or a stock avatar talking,
00:18:04:13 - 00:18:10:23
Cathal
music, animations, B-roll, using a plethora of different providers.
00:18:10:23 - 00:18:15:01
Cathal
And, this is where we see video going, where it's even easier.
00:18:15:01 - 00:18:16:07
Cathal
Again, you don't even need to
00:18:16:07 - 00:18:19:10
Cathal
type in the script. We will just AI generate it for you.
00:18:19:10 - 00:18:23:20
Cathal
And then the third part of yesterday's big news was we just acquired,
00:18:23:20 - 00:18:33:08
Cathal
a company called Alicia who were working on something similar in the AI video agent space. And we're super excited to have them join our team
00:18:33:08 - 00:18:37:12
Cathal
and help us, with our mission of making visual storytelling more accessible.
00:18:37:12 - 00:18:37:19
Cathal
Duh.
00:18:37:19 - 00:18:42:00
Alex
Wow. That's incredible. You're even having the scripting tools now, which I've been experimenting with. And
00:18:42:00 - 00:18:46:04
Alex
They work exceptionally well. So people who are familiar with ChatGPT or Cloud or anything like that,
00:18:46:04 - 00:18:50:22
Alex
It works similarly and can help you really come up with some great scripts that you can then feed to your avatar.
00:18:50:22 - 00:18:54:01
Alex
So there's no more excuses of, I can't write a script, I don't have a
00:18:54:01 - 00:18:54:15
Alex
production team.
00:18:54:15 - 00:18:55:09
Alex
can do it all.
00:18:55:09 - 00:18:57:16
Alex
sitting in your pajamas at your house if you wanted to.
00:18:57:16 - 00:19:00:08
Alex
So it sounds like you're acquiring some companies and you're scaling.
00:19:00:08 - 00:19:02:23
Alex
can you just a little background, how old is hey, Jen. And like
00:19:02:23 - 00:19:07:01
Alex
where do you see the future of Hey Jen going in the next 3 to 5 years. Like what's that look like.
00:19:07:03 - 00:19:07:06
Cathal
Yeah.
00:19:07:06 - 00:19:10:09
Cathal
Hey, Jen is now kind of a four and a half, five years old.
00:19:10:09 - 00:19:17:07
Cathal
First couple of years was just Joshua and Wayne. Co-founders trying to figure out where to focus.
00:19:17:07 - 00:19:28:01
Cathal
one of our first principles was AI is only going to get better and better, and then the other big insight was people want more and more video content.
00:19:28:01 - 00:19:38:14
Cathal
There's some wonderful graphs out there of just the exponential curve of video content on YouTube over the years, and we expect that to continue. So we really want to just continue,
00:19:38:14 - 00:19:44:10
Cathal
building tools to make it easier for all sorts of folks, to create videos. But
00:19:44:10 - 00:19:47:03
Cathal
we're really focused on commercial applications, you know,
00:19:47:03 - 00:19:51:03
Cathal
how do we help, businesses make more videos going forward?
00:19:51:05 - 00:19:51:15
Cathal
And we have,
00:19:51:15 - 00:19:53:19
Cathal
a lot of different ideas on how we can do that,
00:19:53:19 - 00:19:55:18
Alex
Yeah. And I'm excited to see what you roll out
00:19:55:18 - 00:19:57:23
Alex
we're on the, the, partner channel for
00:19:57:23 - 00:19:59:13
Alex
slack. And we see a lot of the new
00:19:59:13 - 00:20:02:23
Alex
launches and updates and I'm like, I have my notifications turned on real loud
00:20:02:23 - 00:20:04:00
Alex
I want to be the first one to see
00:20:04:00 - 00:20:05:19
Alex
I'm, I'm so excited when the new stuff comes out
00:20:05:19 - 00:20:09:11
Alex
can vouch for you saying that you're always pushing the envelope as far as, like
00:20:09:11 - 00:20:10:08
Alex
developing the tools
00:20:10:08 - 00:20:15:20
Alex
further and bringing out new tools and listening to your audience, you have a whole group in the slack channel that's dedicated just to hearing
00:20:15:20 - 00:20:17:10
Alex
user feedback and stuff that we want
00:20:17:10 - 00:20:18:06
Alex
that you can help develop.
00:20:18:06 - 00:20:19:18
Alex
Yeah, and I love that approach
00:20:19:18 - 00:20:20:01
Alex
because
00:20:20:01 - 00:20:22:01
Alex
we here at impact operate very similarly.
00:20:22:01 - 00:20:25:22
Alex
Our community is so important to us, and you learn the most from the people that are using
00:20:25:22 - 00:20:27:08
Alex
your products and your services. So
00:20:27:08 - 00:20:28:01
Alex
that's just a great,
00:20:28:01 - 00:20:29:21
Alex
way to continue to develop and move forward.
00:20:29:21 - 00:20:36:11
Cathal
I think a lot of people talk about like how AI is moving so quickly and AI companies are moving so quickly, but
00:20:36:11 - 00:20:49:02
Cathal
what we're hearing from our customers a lot is whether they're an AI company or, you know, a manufacturing company in the Midwest, AI is accelerating how everyone does things. Everyone has to move quicker,
00:20:49:02 - 00:20:52:00
Cathal
adopt new things, change their approaches.
00:20:52:00 - 00:21:00:10
Cathal
we feel like AI video is going to, transform over the next couple of years in terms of how we create content, how we communicate. And,
00:21:00:10 - 00:21:05:18
Cathal
the most important thing for us at, Hey, Jen, is how can we move really fast with
00:21:05:18 - 00:21:08:13
Cathal
to help our customers through their story?
00:21:08:13 - 00:21:12:13
Alex
I totally agree. And it is exponentially getting faster and trying to keep up with it.
00:21:12:13 - 00:21:13:18
Alex
is a daunting task.
00:21:13:18 - 00:21:16:01
Alex
Where do you find the balance between moving
00:21:16:01 - 00:21:17:03
Alex
fast but also,
00:21:17:03 - 00:21:19:17
Alex
taking the time to make sure that the products are correct or making sure that,
00:21:19:17 - 00:21:21:22
Alex
you're finding the balance between speed and also,
00:21:21:22 - 00:21:22:14
Alex
efficiency,
00:21:22:14 - 00:21:23:07
Alex
right? Yeah.
00:21:23:07 - 00:21:28:19
Cathal
We have like a super wonderful AI research team. Hey, Jen. And engineering
00:21:28:19 - 00:21:31:15
Cathal
teams and product teams, and they're really,
00:21:31:15 - 00:21:46:17
Cathal
focused on. Yes, we need to create new models, to make sure our customers have the latest and greatest. But we also need to build a stable platform. You know, people are building their entire businesses based on, hey, Jen, know, to create content for their clients.
00:21:46:17 - 00:21:50:19
Cathal
So we need to make sure that there's a very consistent, stable experience. So
00:21:50:19 - 00:21:52:05
Cathal
it is a balancing act.
00:21:52:05 - 00:22:01:16
Cathal
I do think one of the reasons customers like us is we always have like the, the frontier model, the, the most powerful and highest performing model.
00:22:01:16 - 00:22:04:06
Cathal
as a small team, you know, there's always trade offs we have to make.
00:22:04:06 - 00:22:07:11
Cathal
Sometimes we even move so fast. I'm struggling
00:22:07:11 - 00:22:10:17
Cathal
to keep up and make sure our partners know what's coming out there. But
00:22:10:17 - 00:22:13:16
Cathal
the way things are at the moment, the space is moving incredibly quick.
00:22:13:20 - 00:22:14:12
Alex
Absolutely.
00:22:14:12 - 00:22:17:05
Alex
think we're all feeling that. And that's not just with video and
00:22:17:05 - 00:22:24:18
Alex
AI. It's it's AI across the board. And that's in every industry too. I don't think any industry save it doesn't matter if you're B2B or B2C or whatever the case may
00:22:24:18 - 00:22:25:08
Alex
be. So right
00:22:25:08 - 00:22:32:07
Alex
for our audience, our viewers or listeners that are excited, maybe they haven't heard of Hey Jen before, what would be a good place or where would you
00:22:32:07 - 00:22:34:02
Alex
say is a good place for them to start
00:22:34:02 - 00:22:37:04
Alex
to experiment with the tools and all these cool things that you have to offer?
00:22:37:04 - 00:22:45:22
Cathal
would start by saying, first of all, if anyone's on the fence, maybe they're listening to this. They think some of it sounds wonderful, but some of it sounds like a load of rubbish. I would say
00:22:45:22 - 00:22:55:14
Cathal
AI video is here to stay. You know, I video's not going anywhere. People always need to tell their story. The great thing about Hey Jen is you can sign up for free today.
00:22:55:14 - 00:22:57:00
Cathal
We have free plans. You can
00:22:57:00 - 00:23:06:04
Cathal
it out, create an avatar, create a couple of videos, have a poke around and we have a couple of consumer plans. And then we have like more enterprise type plans. But,
00:23:06:04 - 00:23:12:11
Cathal
you can just jump in one of the best resources we have that, hey, Jen is our community. We have,
00:23:12:11 - 00:23:14:15
Cathal
millions of users across the world.
00:23:14:17 - 00:23:16:07
Cathal
They're all super engaged.
00:23:16:07 - 00:23:30:00
Cathal
The thing that keeps them around is they've just been able to see whether they joined six months ago or they joined three years ago. They've just been able to see this a constant improvement in the technology. And they know we're getting closer and closer to that, like
00:23:30:00 - 00:23:36:10
Cathal
95% mark, where it's the AI video is 95% of the way there compared to a real video.
00:23:36:10 - 00:23:43:00
Cathal
You can get in there, have a look at different resources, content we've created, and even talk to other users, see what they're up to
00:23:43:00 - 00:23:45:04
Cathal
and how they're getting the most out of. Hey, Jen.
00:23:45:04 - 00:23:51:07
Alex
think that's a great advice. And I also have to say I love the community as well. We spend a lot of time in there. It's also great for inspiration. If you're
00:23:51:07 - 00:23:51:13
Alex
not
00:23:51:13 - 00:23:53:01
Alex
sure how to use an avatar
00:23:53:01 - 00:24:00:10
Alex
or what the tools can do, it's a great way to see them in action and see real use cases, and see how other people and companies are putting it to good use.
00:24:00:11 - 00:24:06:13
Alex
think you're right, the 95%, some of those videos on there, especially the vertical like social media videos, it's very hard
00:24:06:13 - 00:24:07:07
Alex
even for a video
00:24:07:07 - 00:24:08:07
Alex
person like myself, a video
00:24:08:07 - 00:24:09:07
Alex
expert like me. It's very
00:24:09:07 - 00:24:10:00
Alex
hard to tell
00:24:10:00 - 00:24:10:11
Alex
whether it's
00:24:10:11 - 00:24:13:04
Alex
real or it's not. And I think that's the most fascinating piece
00:24:13:04 - 00:24:14:16
Alex
100%. I also think too,
00:24:14:16 - 00:24:17:16
Alex
and correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like because of social media,
00:24:17:16 - 00:24:20:18
Alex
the quality piece as far as like these really high end productions
00:24:20:18 - 00:24:23:00
Alex
people still appreciate them, but the market has shifted
00:24:23:00 - 00:24:27:18
Alex
much more to user generated content, influencer content and things like that, where
00:24:27:18 - 00:24:30:01
Alex
almost works better not to be so overly
00:24:30:01 - 00:24:31:12
Alex
produced and to have something where you're
00:24:31:12 - 00:24:32:05
Alex
talking in your car,
00:24:32:05 - 00:24:34:05
Alex
right? You're walking down the street. Yeah. And
00:24:34:05 - 00:24:34:20
Alex
you have a lot of
00:24:34:20 - 00:24:36:18
Alex
really great tools that help you do that as well. Is that true?
00:24:36:18 - 00:24:37:04
Cathal
Yeah.
00:24:37:04 - 00:24:45:02
Cathal
funny, I was talking to a Demand Jen person from one of our customers this week, and I was kind of asking, hey, like, you shot some,
00:24:45:02 - 00:24:52:21
Cathal
avatars in a in a studio with a green screen, and they came out really, really great. Like, so great, you nearly couldn't tell they were. I.
00:24:52:21 - 00:25:01:20
Cathal
And then I said, but in your account, you know, we can see you're mostly creating this, like, UGC style content with the avatars where it's filmed on a smartphone.
00:25:01:22 - 00:25:09:01
Cathal
And they just said, you know, they've been using both. They've been testing both on social media. And the ones that are, performing the best,
00:25:09:01 - 00:25:13:02
Cathal
are the ones that feel the most authentic. And sometimes the most authentic videos
00:25:13:02 - 00:25:17:00
Cathal
are a little bit rough around the edges. It's not UGC style content
00:25:17:00 - 00:25:21:17
Cathal
rather than the, you know, lights, camera, action, studio production videos.
00:25:21:17 - 00:25:23:06
Cathal
it's just so interesting to see it,
00:25:23:06 - 00:25:24:07
Cathal
come into fruition. Yeah.
00:25:24:12 - 00:25:27:15
Alex
there's definitely a shift happening on multiple levels with social and with AI.
00:25:27:15 - 00:25:29:09
Alex
I think it all comes back to the same thing, which is
00:25:29:09 - 00:25:32:22
Alex
people want to have a real interaction or at least want to have a connection through
00:25:32:22 - 00:25:33:10
Alex
storytelling
00:25:33:10 - 00:25:34:04
Alex
that feels
00:25:34:04 - 00:25:36:13
Alex
compelling and relatable. And you said relatable, and
00:25:36:13 - 00:25:37:13
Alex
that resonates with me a lot.
00:25:37:13 - 00:25:40:11
Alex
And I think that's why these video tools are so powerful,
00:25:40:11 - 00:25:40:20
Alex
so
00:25:40:20 - 00:25:42:15
Alex
very cool stuff. Yeah.
00:25:42:15 - 00:25:43:15
Alex
The point in the show,
00:25:43:15 - 00:25:45:03
Alex
I have to ask this question. I asked this question
00:25:45:03 - 00:25:46:01
Alex
on every episode, right?
00:25:46:01 - 00:25:48:08
Alex
We covered a lot of ground today. We talked about a lot of cool things.
00:25:48:08 - 00:25:52:11
Alex
What would you say is the one takeaway that people should take away from our conversation?
00:25:52:11 - 00:25:52:13
Alex
And
00:25:52:13 - 00:25:53:21
Alex
for our audience here, that is
00:25:53:21 - 00:25:57:05
Alex
really in the endless customers community. What would you say to them that they should take away?
00:25:57:05 - 00:26:06:01
Cathal
you know, every business or every person always has to figure out how to tell their story, whether it's about the products they're selling, the partners,
00:26:06:01 - 00:26:13:15
Cathal
the progress they're making, or even just in their personal life, communicating. Hey, like, you know, this is why I'm good for this job or this is why you
00:26:13:15 - 00:26:16:14
Cathal
should consider me for x, y z.
00:26:16:16 - 00:26:29:20
Cathal
Hey, Jen wants to help you amplify the stories that you want to get out there into the world, and whether that is using avatars, great. Whether that's translating content into different languages to reach new geographies. Great.
00:26:29:20 - 00:26:33:23
Cathal
Or whether it's some of the new products we have in the pipeline, I would just say,
00:26:33:23 - 00:26:35:10
Cathal
try it out for free.
00:26:35:12 - 00:26:45:08
Cathal
And then my big recommendation to everyone is make sure you check back in in another 30 days or 60 days because the product's going to look different. We're going to have new things.
00:26:45:08 - 00:26:50:01
Cathal
And maybe you have tried it out. Maybe some of your listeners tried this out a year ago or two years ago, and
00:26:50:01 - 00:26:52:12
Cathal
the call would just be, get back in there.
00:26:52:12 - 00:27:01:13
Cathal
The space is moving quickly, and the agent team's always here to help. If any of your customers or users have any questions, they can reach out to myself directly.
00:27:01:13 - 00:27:04:17
Cathal
They can reach out to you, ask the questions, and we will answer them
00:27:04:17 - 00:27:11:08
Cathal
we really see ourselves as educators. We want to educate people around this technology and then however they want to go and use it.
00:27:11:09 - 00:27:12:11
Cathal
We'll support them on that.
00:27:12:11 - 00:27:15:11
Alex
Very well said. And I couldn't agree with you more. I have to say this.
00:27:15:11 - 00:27:19:09
Alex
we were one of those people about a year and a half ago, two years ago, when we first
00:27:19:09 - 00:27:21:00
Alex
started really engaging with, hey, Jen,
00:27:21:00 - 00:27:23:15
Alex
like I remember our CEO being like, can we use this? Can we use this?
00:27:23:15 - 00:27:24:01
Alex
And I was like,
00:27:24:01 - 00:27:25:20
Alex
it's really great and it's amazing and there's
00:27:25:20 - 00:27:26:04
Alex
potential.
00:27:26:04 - 00:27:29:04
Alex
I don't know if it's ready for us to actually start implementing yet. And
00:27:29:04 - 00:27:35:14
Alex
I checked back. It wasn't even I think it was like three months and that had already changed. And then three months after that and fast forward two years,
00:27:35:14 - 00:27:39:23
Alex
from then it's exponential. And I think that's really great and sound advice that
00:27:39:23 - 00:27:41:04
Alex
it's moving at a rapid
00:27:41:04 - 00:27:43:05
Alex
pace and it only keeps getting better and better.
00:27:43:05 - 00:27:47:04
Alex
So if you weren't sure and you checked it out a little while back and you were like, yeah, I'm on the fence,
00:27:47:04 - 00:27:48:02
Alex
you should see what's happening
00:27:48:02 - 00:27:51:04
Alex
now because it's changing and it's pretty, pretty damn amazing.
00:27:51:11 - 00:27:52:13
Cathal
Right. Yeah.
00:27:52:13 - 00:27:57:12
Alex
Go hard. Thank you for all your insights and for sharing all of this information with us. It was great having you on the show today.
00:27:57:12 - 00:28:07:23
Cathal
Yeah. My pleasure. Yeah. We're so lucky to have partners like yourselves who can help your customers figure out how to use some of this technology. Best. And really excited to,
00:28:07:23 - 00:28:10:13
Cathal
hear from some of your listeners how we can help them out. And,
00:28:10:13 - 00:28:12:01
Cathal
yeah, that's luck. Loving the show.
00:28:12:04 - 00:28:18:02
Alex
Thank you so much. And the feeling's mutual. We are very happy to have you as a partner as well, because it only helps people
00:28:18:02 - 00:28:21:11
Alex
on our journey through endless customers and to help establish truth
00:28:21:11 - 00:28:21:20
Alex
and,
00:28:21:20 - 00:28:23:00
Alex
and bring more people
00:28:23:00 - 00:28:23:23
Alex
into their fold. So
00:28:23:23 - 00:28:26:18
Alex
love what you guys are doing and I'm sure you'll be hearing from people.
00:28:26:18 - 00:28:27:10
Alex
We're going to drop
00:28:27:10 - 00:28:28:02
Alex
co-host,
00:28:28:02 - 00:28:28:19
Alex
info into the
00:28:28:19 - 00:28:31:15
Alex
show notes so you can reach out to him or if you want to check out. Hey Jen again,
00:28:31:15 - 00:28:33:15
Alex
can't speak highly enough, so thanks again.
00:28:33:15 - 00:28:39:02
Alex
And for everybody out there watching and listening, this is endless customers. I'm your host, Alex Winter, and we'll catch you on the next episode.
Buyers today expect clear answers, quick responses, and a personal touch. They don’t just want to read about your product or service. They want to see it, hear it, and understand it through video. The challenge is that most teams already feel stretched thin. Creating the amount of video buyers now expect can feel impossible when calendars are packed, resources are limited, and not everyone is comfortable on camera.
That reality sparks a bigger question for many business leaders: Can AI avatars help businesses scale video production without losing the human connection buyers expect?
That’s the exact conversation I had with Cathal Canavan, Head of HeyGen for Agencies, in this episode of the Endless Customers podcast. Together, we explored how businesses are using avatars to scale video production, overcome language barriers, and reduce the roadblocks that keep people from pressing record. Most importantly, we explored how to accomplish all of this without compromising the human connection that buyers still expect.
Your story matters more than the tech
Before we ever got into avatars or features, Cathal grounded the conversation in something simple. Every business has a story to tell. That story might be about the work you do, the clients you serve, the progress you’ve made, or the people behind the scenes who make it all happen. Technology is just a vehicle. Video, in particular, is a tool to help you communicate that story with more clarity, consistency, and reach.
That perspective resonated deeply with me because it’s exactly how we approach content at IMPACT. The goal is never the flash of the tool; it is the trust it can build. A camera, an avatar, or even a social platform is only valuable if it helps you share what is true and helpful with your audience. When tools make your story clearer, they serve the buyer. When they become the focus instead of the message, they fail, no matter how impressive the features look on the surface.
Businesses often get stuck chasing the latest marketing tactic or shiny new software, thinking that will win attention. But what actually earns trust and drives growth is the simple act of telling your story in a way that answers questions, removes confusion, and helps people feel confident in their decisions.
Think about it like a movie trailer. The trailer only works if it gives you a sense of the story and leaves you wanting more. No one goes to see a film because the trailer had great editing software behind it. They go because the story hooked them. Business video works the same way. The tech matters less than the clarity and emotion of the story you are trying to tell.
AI avatars don't replace people. They help you show up more often
One concern I hear regularly is that avatars will replace the real people on your team. Cathal addressed this directly: “People initially think that avatars are here to replace humans. That’s not correct at all.” There will always be moments when live, on-camera presence matters. But there are just as many times when getting on camera is hard. Calendars clash. The studio is booked. Or you just need to get a message out today.
That is where avatars step in. They keep your presence alive when you cannot be there in person. They also remove the friction that stops busy teams from producing video in the first place. As Cathal explained, “They want more video. They want it faster. They want it cheaper. They want to be more creative. And that’s where HeyGen comes in.”
I feel this same pressure every week. The demand for video keeps growing. Avatars are not a replacement for me or for our coaches. They are a way to scale our impact without stretching the team too thin.
One story Cathal shared stuck with me. A cat psychologist in Germany was limited to publishing content in German. Her market was small. With HeyGen, she created an avatar and now publishes in 150 different languages. It is still her story. It is still her expertise. But she can now reach audiences who never would have found her otherwise.
As someone who grew up in video production, I know how challenging and expensive translation can be. It usually requires voice talent, heavy editing, and more rounds of review than you want to count. Lip sync is often off, and the final result feels clunky. The fact that a video can now be translated with voice cloning and synced lips is more than interesting. It is a bridge to real growth for companies selling in more than one region.
Trust and transparency with AI
Can avatars build trust? Yes, when you use them with honesty. On this point, Cathal and I are completely aligned. Buyers are smart. They can usually tell when a video has been translated or when an avatar is standing in for a person. Being upfront about it builds confidence instead of doubt.
Cathal shared two examples that made the point clear.
- The first was translation. “Maybe you have a video of a CEO speaking in English, and you want to translate it to Spanish. We will do the translation, we’ll do a voice clone, and then we’ll do a lip sync.” In situations like this, telling people the video has been translated helps them understand what they are seeing. It does not weaken the message; it strengthens credibility.
- The second example came from a telecom brand in Australia. They used Gen Z avatars in TV ads and openly explained why. It allowed them to keep customer costs low. “They made it into a really humorous campaign. And the results have been pretty fantastic,” Cathal said. It worked because they told the truth, tied the choice to a clear benefit, and delivered the message in a way that matched their brand.
That is the heart of it. When you explain the why, people lean in. When you hide it, they pull back. At IMPACT, this is exactly how we teach transparency in the Endless Customers SystemTM. No smoke. No mirrors. Just clarity, honesty, and trust.
How businesses are using AI avatars in their sales and marketing
Cathal and I explored a range of use cases that show how avatars make video more practical for busy teams.
One of the biggest is sales enablement and training. Teams can record short clips that help reps handle common questions. In fast-moving industries, content gets outdated quickly. With an avatar, you can update scripts in minutes without booking studio time or waiting for edits.
Proposals and pitches are another smart application. As deals progress, a short personalized video keeps momentum alive. Speak directly to the full committee, not just your main contact. Use names, restate the problem, and hit the three points that matter most. Then invite a reply. As Cathal put it, “It’s the leave behinds. It’s the take home assets.” A one-minute video gets watched in Slack or email. A long PDF usually sits unread.
Avatars also make multilingual outreach faster. Sales teams can test messages in different languages and find traction in new markets without the heavy lift of traditional translation.
In regulated industries like pharma and healthcare, precision is everything. Cathal shared how some clients generate a persona, such as a doctor, and use tightly scripted one-to-one clips. These are labeled clearly so the recipient knows exactly what they are seeing. The message stays compliant, consistent, and professional.
FAQs and pricing support is another area where avatars shine. Avatars make it easier to keep those videos fresh, especially for teams who are hesitant to get on camera.
And then there are interactive avatars, which might be the most exciting development. “Our interactive avatar or live avatar,” Cathal explained, connects directly to a knowledge base. A visitor can type or talk to it, and the avatar responds in real time. This means simple questions get answered right away without booking a full demo. That saves time for both the buyer and the sales team, and it gives people help in the moment they need it most.
For me, the common thread across all of these use cases is clear. Video beats PDFs almost every time. People will watch a 60-second clip long before they will read a five-page document. Avatars make it possible for teams to deliver those clips consistently, even on the busiest days.
What's next for HeyGen and AI video?
When I asked Cathal to share what is coming, he summed up their focus in three words: quality, consistency, and controllability. Those are the benchmarks that guide every product decision.
The week we recorded this episode was a big one for their team. They rolled out a full rebrand, launched a new “video agent” product, and announced the acquisition of a company called Alisa. The video agent tool lets you type a prompt and generate a complete video in minutes. It can use your avatar or a stock one, add music, B-roll, and animations, and then give you full control to edit the final cut.
As someone who writes scripts constantly, I was especially interested in the built-in scripting help. For many teams, the hardest part is not recording but writing. This feature lowers that barrier and helps you get started faster.
Cathal also emphasized balance. On one hand, their research and engineering teams keep pushing the models forward with better lip sync, faster rendering, and new capabilities. On the other hand, they know that many agencies and businesses are now building their services directly on top of HeyGen. That makes stability just as important as innovation. “People are building their entire businesses based on HeyGen,” Cathal told me. Reliability is not optional.
From my perspective as a partner, I see the impact firsthand. Scripting tools reduce the blank-page panic. Better sync improves watch time. Faster renders keep projects moving. And a stable platform ensures we can rely on it week after week.
The future of AI video in business
So what does all this mean for teams of different sizes?
Cathal’s take was straightforward. “AI is accelerating how everyone does things. Everyone has to move quicker, adopt new things, change their approaches.” The demand for video will only grow, and buyers will continue to favor clips that feel personal and useful.
We are also seeing a shift in style. One customer tested polished green screen avatars against clips designed to look like user-generated content. The UGC-style clips won on social. As Cathal put it, “The ones that feel the most authentic are the ones that perform the best.” Buyers connect with a phone-shot look when the message is clear and the delivery feels natural. That does not mean production quality no longer matters. It means the right kind of quality matters—human pacing, a direct voice, and a clear next step.
On this point, Cathal and I completely align. The tools will continue to evolve, but the principle stays the same. Use them to help people understand. Use them to help people decide with confidence. That is the heart of storytelling. That is how you build trust.
How do you get started with AI avatars in your business?
If I were starting fresh, I would keep it simple.
Begin by picking one part of the buyer journey that could use a boost. Maybe it’s a short welcome video for booked meetings, a quick answer clip for a top question, or a proposal summary for a prospect. Start small and build from there.
Think about where a real person matters most and where speed and scale matter most. Use people in the moments where presence makes the difference. Use an avatar when the goal is quick updates, translation, or producing content at scale.
Keep your scripts short and plain. Let the questions your buyers already ask guide you. One problem, one clear answer, and one next step is enough. Decide up front how you will handle transparency. If a video has been translated or if a persona is filling in, say so. That openness builds confidence instead of doubt.
Measure the basics as you go. Track watch time, replies, booked calls, or changes in sales cycle time. Share the wins with your team so they can see the impact and gain confidence. Then make a habit of revisiting monthly. These tools move fast. What felt out of reach last time you checked may already be simple today.
In the end, this is not about flashy features or shortcuts. It is about helping people. Tell the truth. Teach with clarity. Show your face, whether live or through an avatar, and give buyers the confidence to move forward. That is how trust lasts.
Using AI avatars to increase trust, not risk it
Endless Customers has always been a system built on trust: talk about what others won’t, show what others avoid, and sell in a way that helps people decide with confidence. AI avatars do not change that. When used with care, they can actually reinforce it.
Cathal said something that continues to stick with me: “Make human connection at scale.” That is really the point. Tools will keep changing. Teams will keep adjusting. But the power of a clear and honest story will not fade.
When you use avatars to serve buyers, you create more opportunities for the conversations that matter most.
If you are curious, start small. Test one use case. Be open about how you are using the tool. Track the results. Share what you learn.
Need help getting your team aligned on the role of AI in sales and marketing? Our coaches work with businesses every day to cut through the hype, focus on what works, and put these tools to use in a way that drives results. Let’s talk.
Connect with Cathal Canavan
Cathal Canavan is Head of HeyGen for Agencies, partnering with marketing and creative teams to integrate AI video into sales, service, and content operations. His focus is simple: help agencies and in-house teams publish more helpful videos, in more languages, with less friction. Cathal leads the HeyGen Agency Program and speaks frequently about AI video use cases and product updates, such as interactive avatars and video agents.
Keep Learning
- Free Assessment: Is Your Marketing Ready for the Next 5 Years?
FAQs
Do buyers trust AI avatars?
Yes. When businesses are transparent about using them and tie the choice to clear benefits. If you explain why you’re using avatars (speed, accessibility, or personalization), most buyers see them as a value-add rather than a gimmick.
Will avatars replace real salespeople?
No. They’re best used to supplement human presence, not replace it. Avatars can handle repetitive or time-consuming tasks, freeing sales teams to focus on deeper conversations and building relationships.
What industries benefit most from avatars?
Any industry with high video demand such as sales, SaaS, healthcare, training, and global companies that need multilingual content. These teams often struggle to scale video quickly, and avatars help them produce consistent, personalized messaging at speed.
How do I avoid making avatars feel “fake”?
Keep scripts clear and conversational, disclose usage, and focus on solving buyer problems, not showing off features. The more authentic and audience-focused the content feels, the less distracting the technology becomes.
__
Endless Customers is a podcast for business owners/leaders, marketers, creatives, and sales teams who want to build trust, attract the right buyers, and drive sustainable revenue growth.
Produced by IMPACT, a sales and marketing training organization, we help companies implement The Endless Customers System by focusing on the right strategies and actions that build trust, educate buyers, and generate more leads.
Interested in sponsorship opportunities or joining us as a guest? Email awinter@impactplus.com.
Facing a challenge in your sales and marketing? Schedule a free coaching session with one of our experts and take the step toward business growth.


Order Your Copy of Marcus Sheridan's New Book — Endless Customers!